Paladin Steel Storefront

[ZINO]

Pray nobody's pointing one of these at that spot.

Paladin Steel/Ghanam Arms Limited ‘Demolisher’ Heavy TW Rifle
(aka ‘Dial-a-Disaster’, ‘Reaper Junior’, ‘Toppler’, ‘Hell-Hose’)

holy cow I never thought a weapon so small can do so much damage wow
very well done man !!!

[abtex]

Did they work on squirrels as well?

[taalismn]

Did they work on squirrels as well?

That's kinda overkill.
Now, COCKROACHES would just shrug it off.

[taalismn]

Did they work on squirrels as well?

Actually, we'd get volunteers from the Smallkin population to wear cybernetic wires(subvocal radio transmitters, cyberoptics)...Miniaturizing such systems for Smallkin use is a ...ah, GROWING field.

The big problem with using 'naked' Smallkin as spies is that a casual psionic scan might be tipped off when they pick up an extra set of SENTIENT mental traces in an area, rather than just the party and a few dumb animals rummaging about. PS's research into psynetics(or their equivalents) is still very much in its infancy, and developing a psionic scrambler that doesn't show up as an obvious artificial subterfuge to an experienced mind reader is something they still haven't figured out yet.

[abtex]

Are they using the 'wires' for networking, and porn?

[taalismn]

Are they using the 'wires' for networking, and porn?

Same as any other culture; BOTH.
In fact, hiding encrypted intelligence in d-bee porn was one way GNE Intelligence was sneaking communiques past CS agents...Even if the stuff was destroyed on the spot by diehard hardcore CS supremacists, it meant the CS didn't know it was there.

[ZINO]

epic man!!!

[Aramanthus]

Nice weapons. I know we here at the Federated States are going to be purchasing them. We have some of our own merc companies.

[taalismn]

Nice weapons. I know we here at the Federated States are going to be purchasing them. We have some of our own merc companies.

Any details on 'em?

[abtex]

taalismn, Somewhere you were talking about using Kera-Tech cadmium-telluride munitions on large tanks.
Mayhambe something like this?

[taalismn]

taalismn, Somewhere you were talking about using Kera-Tech cadmium-telluride munitions on large tanks.
Mayhambe something like this?

Yah...single or twin plasma gatlings on an SPG chassis....mobile plasma battery.

That, though....is just WRONG, but strangely appropriate. The modeler based it on a 'Elefant' chassis, generally regarded as one of the worst armored vehicles of ww2. It was originally a Porsche design turned into a tank destroyer, then ordered into combat on the Eastern Front where it showed it had 1) poor armor, 2) poor mobility, 3) worse reliability, 4) little if any close-in defenses against infantry sneaking up and sabotaging it. The survivors of the Eastern Front got sent to Italy, where the advancing Americans finished them off.
THAT GAU-armed mutant would be devastating to anything standing in its way, but only for a short time before 1) the enemy stepped aside out of line of fire, 2) the ammo bins ran dry in .002 seconds, and 3) the multiple recoil hammered the gun out the back of the hull casemate or tore the tank off its treads. And it would STILL have the problems of the original Elefant.

[ZINO]

taalismn i am posting with kindness ,respect ,and hope you reply IN public ....some day
I telling you I am dearly sorry ,and You just ignore that OK and For I made comments how much I really love your work and the way YOU do things I am humble by Your thread
I enjoy it
thank you for making post my ideas in the forum and I feel that Ever since I posted my comment towards you For may sound bad but it was just tell your an awesome person what you write out here as well
and there an old say where I come turn the other chick or something like that I am sorry and hope you can over look that
it was an old comment and ever since you have ignore me
and I under stand and want to all know you to know I never ever want to hurt or any one for that matter IF I made you mad and I hope we can forgive me and thank you for making me write stuff here
you are rifter material and hope some day PB see that in you
so forgive me if you can and if not I will understand
you rock IMHO and I love the awesome stuff you write and really cool person and thank
hope you reply too on my thread and this place to have fun been open minded here keep it clean this place rock !!!
and hopefully we can reply comment know I am no writer like you but keep on trucking man !!!!
will be gone for a few day I am ill and just want to get this out my chest and hope you reply but Not in PM better to keep thing clean open honest and that what I am doing with well mean and look up to the wrok you do

well now the ball is in you court I humbling wait and hope to win your friendship
bye taalismn you rock man!!!!!

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel/Ghanam Arms Limited ‘Dracolt’ Heavy TW Pistol
(aka ‘Dra-gun’)

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/img348_zpsb145ad30.jpg

“Look into the muzzle-mouth of your extinction and prepare to meet your gods, if they would have anything to do with scum such as yourself!”
----Justicaar Fela Latrell of the Anduvaar Imperium, introducing a band of slavers to the business end of her Dracolt.

Dracolts are heavily stylized Regenerator TW pistols apparently designed to counter the allegations that PS’s mass-production TW weaponry has taken the handcrafted mystique out of mystic devices. When previous PS-mandated weapons have been rigorously practical in appearance and function, what else can explain this weapon’s built-in theme, of the ultimate magical beasts, dragons?
The Dracolt resembles a cross between a long-barreled flintlock pistol and a heavy revolver, all heavily stylized with flanges and engravings to resemble a small dragon, complete with small wings and a tail that wraps up and around as part of the handguard. A folding bayonet blade tucks in under the long barrel. The Dracolt sports a configuration of dragon-themed spells to further the implied draconic connections. Furthermore, it is rumored Paladin Steel enlisted the talents of weaponsmiths from the City of Charter to lend a bit of the pre-Rifts Colt mystique to the new TW firearm.
Dragon Fire was an obvious choice for the weapon, giving it a short range, but potent, incendiary attack(however, the spell had to be modified for endurance and rate of fire). Sonic Blast gives the ‘dra-gun’ a distinctive draconic roar. Power Bolt is the long range heavy hitter of the bundle, while Dispel Magic Barriers provides a bit of dragon cunning in taking down the defenses of other magic users and magical creatures. Cloud of Ash is another attack aping draconic breath, and provides a blinding cover for the shooter. Finally, Mental Shock pays homage to draconic psionic abilities by giving a powerful mental attack capability.
Though discounted and discontinued from the early days of firearms, the pistol bayonet comes back into its own on the Dracolt. Besides the advent of megadamage alloys allowing for especially sharp molecularly-honed edges, and the introduction of vibroblades, Paladin Steel has added the Spinning Blades spell as a modification. The ‘Talons of the Dragon’ have proven shockingly painful to those trying to engage the gun’s possessor in melee combat.
Though derided by some critics as a ‘faux rune weapon’, ‘chintz shooter’, and ‘sheep gun in drag’, the Dracolt is running up order books for it, with orders coming in from supposedly as far as the United Worlds of Warlock in the Three Galaxies.
Weight: 4 lbs
MDC: 45
Range:
(Spells)
(Dragon Fire)100 ft
(Sonic Blast)700 ft
(Power Bolt)2,300 ft
(Dispel Magic Barriers)100 ft
(Cloud of Ash) 90 ft
(Mental Shock)550 ft

(Blade) Melee. When activated, the Spinning Blades spell can reach 300 ft away. If ejected as projectiles, the blades can reach 700 ft.

Damage:
(Dragon Fire)1d4x10 MD per blast. Unlike the original, targets can dodge this attack as normal.
(Sonic Blast)4d6 MD per blast to a 20 ft area, plus those caught in the area of effect will be temporarily deafened(unless wearing some sort of hearing protection) for 2d4 minutes;
(Power Bolt) 5d6+14 MD per blast
(Dispel Magic Barriers) Instantly negates all magic barriers, including Sorcerer's Seal, Carpet of Adhesion, Magic Wall spells, ward spells, etc. The magic barriers targeted get a saving throw(12 or better).
(Cloud of Ash) Produces a thick, dense, cloud of choking sulfurous smoke covering a 30 ft diameter. Depending on local air/wind conditions, the cloud persists for 7 minutes. Those caught in the cloud are -10 to strike, parry, and dodge, and -1 to initiative, while the grit component will do 2d6 SDC or 1d4 Hit Point inhalation damage per melee to those without respiratory protection. 67% chance of highly combustible materials igniting upon contact with the hot ashes.
(Mental Shock) Victim must make a successful save vs magic(at -1) or suffer temporary amnesia and lose all skills except native tongue and five skills most important to them, for 4d6 +14 hours.
A successful save means the victim is dazed for 1d4 melees, losing 2 APMs, -5 to all combat skills and -25% to skills, plus has a ringing headache for an hour.
Dragons, demons, and other supernaturals are NOT vulnerable to Mental Shock.

(Blade) In ‘unpowered’ mode, the bayonet is typically a vibroblade doing 1d6 MD or a ‘Ripper’-style silver-plated weapon doing 2d4 MD.
When activated, the Spinning Blades spell produces 7 blades that each do 1d6 MD each(regardless of what the blade was/does originally) in defensive mode(+6 to parry, +2 to parry energy attacks) or 2d6x7 MD in offensive ‘buzzsaw’ mode(enemy CANNOT parry).
Can also fire the magical blades like projectiles, 1-2 at a time, each doing 1d6 MD on impact, and +3 to strike. The blades disappear on impact.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload:
(Dragon Fire)20 PPE per full melee of firing Dragon Breath(no other spell types can be cast that melee)
(Sonic Blast)10 PPE per shot
(Power Bolt) 10 PPE per shot
(Dispel Magic Barriers) 10 PPE per shot
(Cloud of Ash) 3 PPE per shot
(Mental Shock) 10 PPE per shot

(Blade) 10 PPE for 7 melee rounds
PPE Capacity:(Heavy)----200 PPE battery capacity; recharges at 2 PPE per hour, 10 PPE/hour at a leyline, 20 PPE/hour on a nexus or in a dimensional pyramid
Note: The user can pump his or her own PPE or ISP into the weapon to recharge it an emergency, but at DOUBLE the above listed PPE cost(x4 if ISP; so 10 PPE battery shot takes 20 PPE/40 ISP to manually recharge)
Special Features:
*LED PPE Counter(keeps track of available power)

Cost: 407,000 credits
Options:
*Mystic Marksmanship(3 PPE for a single shot)---Gives a +3 to an aimed or called shot. On the Dracolt, when activated, this feature causes the wings to rise up to become a sight, and the eyes near the muzzle widen and glow. Cost: 9,000 credits (A popular option with collectors who want to get the most out of their expensive acquisition, even if they are not themselves good shots)

*Safety Bonding---This insures that the weapon can ONLY be used by specific people. Using a ritual performed in-shop which requires all the people to be trusted with the weapon be present to contribute a single drop of blood that is pressed into the grip in the ritual, the weapon is effectively ‘safetied’ and will fire ONLY for those people.
(GALtd doesn’t advertise it, but the system isn’t ENTIRELY foolproof; there’s a 25% chance that people with a close genetic/magical similarity to the bonded people---immediate children, siblings, doppelgangers, or clones---can also use the weapon. )
Cost: 30,000 credits per person bonded to the weapon. Up to four people can be ‘impressed’ on the weapon.

*Sense Evil---The PPE crystal can flash red if supernatural evil entities approach within a 90 ft radius. Cost: 10,000 credits

*Sense Magic---The PPE crystal can flash yellow if active magic occurs within 120 ft of the weapon. Cost: 10,000 credits

*PPE Clip Adapter----Developed to address the shortcoming of the Regenerator-series in that once the PPE reservoir is exhausted, the weapon is essentially useless until the crystal recharges or a mage or psychic pumps in their own PPE/ISP. This handy device clips to the cylinder, saddle-stye, and allows the weapon to draw from an attached PS- or allied-manufacture PPE clip. Note that the Regenerator cannot RECHARGE an attached empty PPE clip; the power draw is strictly one-way. Yes, this device can be fitted to other Ghanam Arms weapons as well. Cost: 3,000 credits


*Tail Strap---A metal chain tail can be incorporated into the weapon’s design. The ‘tail’ will wrap around the owner’s wrist and forearm, preventing it from being knocked from his grasp. Cost: 2,000 credits

[Aramanthus]

Very nice. I know several of our mages would like to own these. I know it looks very nice. My merc companies are on paper and not on my computer. At least not yet. I know I have yet to type them in.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel/Wroclaw IronBody ‘Maczek’ Full Conversion Cyborg
(aka ‘PanzerBoy’, ‘Tank-Knight’, ‘Czolg-Mycerz’, ‘Kursk’ , ‘Tank-Chair’)
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/img117copy_zpsc766136a.jpg

“TANKS! BEAT! EVERYTHING!”
---Anonymous(presumably a tanker)

“It took just about everything I had, plus an on-the-spot minefield---careful, I still haven’t recovered some of them---but I just bagged me this here hunk of Donetsk cybertrash! You can have what’s left of his brain for interrogation, but I claim salvage rights on the chassis, especially the shoulder gun! I worked for it, I earned it, and I mean to mount it for my own!”
---Plutonowy Tadeusz Szanajca, Polish ‘Maczek’ Full Conversion Cyborg Militiaman, after a run-in with Orloff raiders.

“Taste the wrath of the Polish People’s Mechanical Collective, you inhuman monsters! A plasma fire in your guts, burning hot metal in your limbs, and the cracking of your bones beneath our thunderous treads! Damnation to you, and may our righteous vengeance visit eternal agony unto you even in whatever hell that welcomes you back!”
---Anonymous Maczek-conversion soldier during a purge of a Brodkil encampment along the Vistula River.

This full-conversion cyborg is a fairly early and crude design originating in Poland. It is generally regarded as having been influenced by the Russian heavy cyborg designs of the East, translated into the available technology in the Polish enclaves.
The Maczek trades the mobility of a bipedal chassis for the heavy armor and towing capacity of a treaded chassis. A fairly conventional Heavy Machine humanoid cyborg upper torso is grafted, centaur-style, to a tracked lower body. The tracked locomotion severely limits the cyborg in leaping, climbing, and high-speed running abilities, but the wider treads and lower tread pressure allow the cyborg superior traction and better ability to traverse soft ground and heavy snows.
Sometimes called the ‘tractor ‘borg’, the Maczek is most notable for the large pivot mounting on the back of the tread chassis. This can be used as a tow-hitch, but it can also be used to mount a light artillery piece. The cyborg’s upper torso can swivel completely around to service the weapon. While the rear mount doesn’t provide the same arc of fire as a shoulder-mounted heavy weapon, it is more stable, has fewer problems with recoil, and can mount heavier weapons without fear of toppling the cyborg over.

The Maczek is also sometimes derisively nicknamed ‘wheelchair ‘borg’ or ‘half-bot’, and is generally regarded as a less expensive alternative to a fully biped Heavy Machine cyborg. It’s joked that the cyberdocs only have to make/buy half the usual amount of advanced bionic limbs, with the rest, the treaded lower body, coming from less sophisticated vehicle assembly lines. For the many seriously maimed Polish warriors, though, even the limited mobility capabilities of the Maczek and snide remarks it attracts are a fair tradeoff for the heavy armor, armament, and ability to get back into the fight for them. After the Razing of Wroclaw, especially, the number of Maczek conversions have increased, in particular among those maimed in the monsters’ campaign, and who, for whatever reason, could not afford or qualify for the NGR’s own full cyborg conversion programs.

There have been reports occasionally of encounters between Polish Maczek cyborgs and the Russian Warlord Orloff’s ‘Holocaust’ assault cyborgs. As both use similar(if not IDENTICAL) tracked chassises, the two ‘panzer-borgs’ tend to see each other as rivals, and the bloody clashes in Carpathian Mountain passes are fueled as much by personal rivalry as by territorial aggression. While the Maczeks tend to be less well armored and armed compared to the Russian ‘borgs, they’re also slightly faster and lighter, and their ability to mount heavier and longer-ranged weapons often gives them the reach on Orloff’s soldiers. However, if the fearsomely armed Russians can close with their Polish rivals, the fight more often goes to Orloff’s maniacs.

Besides combat operations, the Maczek is popular as a labor and mining cyborg conversion, its tough frame and towing capacity making it popular as a stevedore in ports and mining facilities.

Paladin Steel produces its own version of the Maczek(courtesy of several immigrants), updated with their own technologies, so the design is available in North America. The ‘tank-centaur’ configuration isn’t quite as popular as a permanent cyborg frame conversion, but the design still has its fans and adherents, especially for those wanting to tote around seriously heavy firepower. Paladin Steel is also working on a fully robotic version, using the AI systems from their ‘Magnus’ Infantry Drone series.


Type: PR/PS--FC-15 Maczek
Class: Full Conversion Borg
Crew: One volunteer

M.D.C. By Location:
Hands(2) 60 each
Arms(2) 120 each
*Head 150.
**Upper Torso 250
Lower Torso 250
Treads(2) 120 each
Heavy Weapons Mount 100
(Optional) Armored Ammunition Panniers(1-2) 100 each
*Destroying the head of a Cyborg will kill the character!
However, the head is a small and difficult target to hit. The attacker
must make a called shot and even then he is -3 to strike. The hands, and
forearms are also difficult targets to hit and are -4 to strike on a
called shot.
**Depleting the M.D.C. of the upper torso will effectively
destroy the artificial body, but emergency systems will keep the brain and
vital organs alive for 36 hours. Recovery of the severely damaged body
will enable doctors to place the character on life support systems that
will keep him alive until a new bionic body (same style or other) is
available, for full conversion. Failure to find the damaged Borg within 36
hours means the character dies.

Note: The Maczek’s upper torso be fitted with any additional armor up to HEAVY Cyborg Armor

Speed:
Running: 85 mph max. Maximum speed can be maintained indefinitely.
Jumping: Not possible
Flying: Not possible
Underwater: The Maczek CANNOT swim, but sinks like a rock. It is limited to crawling along the bottom at 8 MPH, maximum depth of 3,000 ft.

Statistical Data:
Average Height: 8 feet
Width: 7 feet
Length: 9.9 feet
Weight: 3 tons.
Power System: Nuclear
Physical Attributes: Equal to Robotic PS. 35, PP. 24,.
Bonuses: Standard cyborg bonuses of +3 save vs magic, impervious to
bio-manipulation
+3 initiative
+5 strike/parry
+3 dodge (mobility is limited by the non-bipedal lower torso)
+3 Pull Punch
Penalties: Touch/tactile sense is 60% of human norm.
Prowl penalty: -20%

Special Skills/Training---Use standard 'Borg, Mining ‘Borg, or Heavy Machine.
Black Market Cost: 3.4 million credits with all standard features, weapons,
and sensors.

Standard Bionic Features
Note: These features are all found in the bionic and
cybernetic section of the Rifts RPG.
1. Bionic lung with gas filter & storage cell
2. Built-in language translator
3. Built-in radio receiver & transmitter
4. Clock calendar
5. Gyrocompass
6. Modulated voice synthesizer
7. Multi-optic eyes
8. Built-in loudspeaker
9. Universal headjack with amplified hearing and sound filtration systems.

Special Features:
*Tow-Hitch---Under the pintle-mount on the rear deck of the lower body is a trailer tow hitch that can be used to haul trailers(often extra ammunition for the cyborg’s heavy weapons) or sledges. Can haul up to 7 tons.

*(Optional) Armored Ammunition Panniers---One or two armored cases can be mounted on the sides/upper deck of the tank-torso, for holding ammunition for the rear guns(if any), or additional cargo. Each can hold up to 300 lbs of cargo, and are roughly 5 ft long by 2 ft in diameter. They can be detached and thrown off if need be.

*Upper Torso 360-degree Swivel

Weapons Systems:
1)Heavy Pintle----- Mounted on the backside, behind the centaur upper torso, is a large pintle mount that can be used as a large trailer hitch, but is more often than not used to mount an excavation tool or heavy weapon. The cyborg can swivel its upper body completely around to service and man the weapon. The advantages of this mounting are that fairly heavy weaponry can be carried and fired, and problems of recoil and stabilization that might attend a shoulder-mounted placement are negated. The downsides of the mounting are that while the weapons have some extra play side to side and up, the rear mounting means the cyborg has to mount their entire body to bring the rear-pointing guns on target.
The following are a few of the more common and popular weapons/systems mounted by both Polish and North American Maczeks. The Polish have also discovered that the same weapons packages used by the NGR’s Jaegers can be easily mounted on the Maczek(something other cyborgs would have great difficulty doing), and both battlefield salvage and copies of these systems are appearing among the cyborgs(Triax is of mixed feelings about the reuse of their weapons in their manner, considering their source). More often, the heavy pintle has been seen mounting one or two Russian cyborg weapons, or even salvaged Gargoyle Empire weapons, such as the WR-100 Giant Laser Rifle, or the WR-200 Giant Rail Gun. Mortars, up to 60mm, are also popular fitouts for these cyborgs.
In North America, the pintle is often used to mount a Gun Loc II weapons bundle.

a).50 Caliber Machine Gun(2)---The old reliable ‘Fifty’. The Polish equivalent is the Russian-designed 12.7mm DShK, still in production long after the fall of the Golden Age.
Weight: 35 lbs
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: (SDC) 1d6x10 SDC single shot, 1d6 x100 SDC(1d6 MD) per 10 rd burst.
(Ramjets) 1d4 MD single shot, 1d4x10 MD per 10 rd burst.
(High Explosive)3d6x10 SDC single shot, 1d6 MD per 10 rd burst.
(PSX-2) 2d6 MD per rd, 2d6x10 MD per 10 rd burst.
(Tracer) Every 11th round is a tracer, which gives a +1 to strike with bursts. However, the tracer stream also makes it that much easier for enemies to backtrace and locate the machine gunner.
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload: 300 rd box magazine per gun. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 3,000 rounds.
Cost: 8,000 credits

b)PS-M136 7.62mm Mini-Gun(2)---Twin six-barrel gatling guns can be mounted for serious ‘spray and pray’ ripping firepower.
Weight: 35 lbs+ ammo drum(a full 4,000 rd drum can weigh 160 lbs)
Range: 10,000 ft
Damage:(SDC) 6d6 SDC single shot, 4d6 x10 SDC(1d4 MD) per 10 rd burst, 8d6x10 SDC per 20 rd burst, 1d4 MD per 40 rd burst.
(Ramjets) 1 MD single shot, 1d10 MD per 10 rd burst, 2d10 MD per 20 rd burst, 1d4x10 MD per 40 rd burst.
(High Explosive)2d6x10 SDC single shot, 1d6 MD per 10 rd burst, 2d6 MD per 20 rd burst, 4d6 MD per 40 rd burst.
(PSX-2) 1d4 MD per rd, 1d4x10 MD per 10 rd burst, 2d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst, 4d4x10 MD per 40 rd burst.
(Tracer) Every 11th round is a tracer, which gives a +1 to strike with bursts. However, the tracer stream also makes it that much easier for enemies to backtrace and locate the machine gunner.
Rate of Fire: Standard; rated at 6,000 rpm(or 1,500 rounds per melee)
Payload: 4,000-rd belt. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 4,000 rounds.
Cost: 27,000 credits


c) 20mm Autocannon(2)
Range:(20mm)4,000 ft, 7,200 ft for the Model 2N
Damage:(20mm) 1d4 MD per shell
4d6 MD per 5 rd burst
1d4x10+4 MD per 10 rd burst
Airburst does 1d4 MD to 2 ft blast radius(single shot)
(20mm PSX-1) 4d4 MD single rd
1d6x10 MD per 5 rd burst
Airburst does 4d4 MD to 2 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload: 1,000 rd drum. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 1,000 shots.
Cost: 40,000 credits. 50,000 credits for the Model 2N

d)30mm Autocannon(2)---Twin mounting, based on German weapons. This weapon is known in North America as the *PS-862 AC Anti-Aircraft Flak Cannon(Paladin Steel knockoff of the TriaxTX-862FC)
Range: 10,000 ft
Damage: 4d6 MD single rd, 1d6x10 MD two rd burst, 3d6x10 MD six-round burst
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 800 rds, 400 rds per cannon. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 400 shots.
Bonuses: Independent laser and radar tracking system(range: 11,000 ft). +1 strike set on automatic against aerial attack, +2 strike fired by gunner
Cost: 500,000 credits


e)40mm Autocannon(1)-----*PS/FA-A9 2-pounder (40mm)Autocannon
Range:(High Velocity Round)5,000 yards(15,000 ft)
Maximum AA altitude w/ HV shells: 13,300 ft
(Low Velocity Round) 3,800 yards(11,400 ft)
Damage:(Fragmentation) 4d6 MD to 6 ft blast radius
(High Explosive) (HV) 1d4x10+3 MD to 1.5 ft blast radius
(LV)1d4x10 MD to 1.5 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire: 120 rounds per minute(or up to 30 rds per melee)
Payload: Box magazine of 200 rounds. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional two box clips(400 rds total).
Cost: 150,000 credits
High Velocity(Fragmentation) shells cost 200 credits apiece, 245 credits for HE
Low Velocity(Fragmentation) shells cost 180 credits apiece, 200 credits for HE

f)40mm Autocannon(B)(1)----A popular anti-aircraft weapon.
Range: 2.6 miles
Damage:(Proximity Fuzed Fragmentation) 3d6 MD to 15 ft blast radius
(Armor Piercing Tracer) 5d6 MD single shot
(High Explosive Tracer) 4d6 MD to 10 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 200 rounds. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 200 shots
Cost: 300,000 credits(ammunition costs extra)

g)Mass Driver Cannon(1)---The old 60mm Paladin Steel Snapfire artillery weapon.
Range:(Direct Fire Mode): 6000 ft
(Artillery Mode) 2 .5 miles
Damage:(Direct Fire Mode) 3d6x10 MD, no blast radius
(Artillery Mode) Everything within the 30 ft blast radius takes 2D6x10 M.D. and has a 75% chance of being knocked flat.
Rate of Fire:(Direct Fire Mode) EPCHH
(Artillery Mode) Three times per melee
Payload: 20 rds. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 16 shots
Bonuses/Penalties: +1 strike in direct fire mode. -2 to strike in Artillery mode.
Cost: 250,000 credits

h)75mm Howitzer(1)---Based on a pre-Rifts WW2-vintage German infantry cannon
Range:13,000 ft
Damage: Smoke Rd: Smoke in a 30 ft area
Foam Rd: Designed for firefighting. Covers a 15 ft area in fire-retardant foam.
High Explosive Rd: 8d6 MD to 10 ft area
Armor Piercing Round: 1d6x10 MD to 3 ft area
Plasma Rd: Does 1d8x10 MD to a 6 ft blast radius.
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Single shot, hand-loaded
Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 12 rounds
Cost: 150,000 credits.

i)30mm Grenade Launcher(1)---Based on a pre-Rifts Soviet weapon, the AGS-17
Range: 5,000 ft
Damage:(SDC)* (Fragmentation) 2d6x10 SDC to 16 ft radius
(High Explosive) 6d6x10 SDC to 4 ft radius
(Armor Piercing) 1d4x100 SDC, no blast radius
(Crowd Control rds)---Essentially an expanding plastic ‘flyswatter’ that delivers a bruising knockdown punch. Cut effective range to 200 ft. Does 2d4 SDC per rd, humans and human-sized D-Bees must roll a D20-5 to maintain their footing (must equal or surpass the attacker's roll to strike...Full rules in TNW p.174). Human-sized light power armors(500-800 lbs) also roll on a D20, but are +2 to save versus knockdown
(Wood Rounds) 7d6 SDC single shot (1d4x10+5 HP to vampires), no blast radius

*(Yes, I know, why include SDC when it just as quickly becomes MDC? You’re still being hit with a pretty hefty shell)

(MD)(HE) 2d6(12 ft blast radius)
A 5 rd burst does 1d4x10 MD to an 20 ft area
(Armor-Piercing) 4d6(3 ft blast radius)
A 5 rd burst does 1d4x10 MD to an 9 ft area
(light micro-fusion) 6d6 MD (12 ft blast radius)
A 5 rd burst does 1d6x10 MD to an 25 ft area
(HESH (High Explosive Squash Head)) - Designed to ‘spald’ off armor on the interior of power armors and vehicles. Composite ‘chobham’(layered armor and nylon mesh) armor reduces this internal damage by HALF, by holding the armor together.
HESH rounds do NOT have a blast radius.
3D6 MD plus 4D6 SDC to the person(s) inside the object.
(Incendiary) 2d4 MD to a 12 ft blast radius, plus an additional 1d6 MD per melee for 1d6 melees.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 200 round drum. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 200 rounds.
Cost: 19,000 credits; SDC rounds cost 40-60 credits each, Crowd Control rounds cost 20 credits each, standard 30mm HE grenades cost 400 credits each, armor-piercing cost 550 credits each, micro-fusion(rarely available on the open market) cost 1,500 credits each, Incendiary cost 600 credits each.

j)40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher
Range: 7,000 ft
Damage: Identical to the WI-GL20;
Frag rounds do 4d6 MD to a 12-foot radius.
AP rounds do 1d4x10 to a 3-foot blast radius,
and Plasma rounds do 1d4x10+10 to a 5-foot radius.
A 3 round burst of frag shells does 1d4x10 to a 15 foot radius,
a burst of 3 AP shells does 2d4x10 to a 5 foot radius,
and a burst of 3 plasma shells does 3d4x10 to an 8 foot blast radius
A 5 round burst of frag shells does 1d6x10 to a 20 foot radius,
a burst of 5 AP shells does 2d6x10 to a 6 foot area,
and a burst of 5 plasma shells does 3d6x10 to a 10 foot radius.
A 10 round burst of frag shells does 2d6x10 to a 40-foot radius.
A 10 round AP burst does 3d6x10 to an 8-foot area,
and a 10 round plasma burst does 4d6x10+10 to a 15-foot radius!!
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload: 200 round drum. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 200 rounds.
Cost: Black Market examples cost 180,000 credits, but PS would/will ideally market the weapon for 50,000 credits for the launcher; the cost is in the larger projectiles

k)PS-RG-60 Heavy Rail Gun( a copy of an imported Russian design)
Range: 5,000 ft
Damage: 1d6x10 per 20 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 3,000 rd drum
Cost: 100,000 credits

l)45mm Rail Gun---A modified, longer-ranged version of the PS-HRG05 'Hellshot' Rail Cannon.
Range: 5,300 ft
Damage: 3D6x10 MD
Rate of Fire: Single shot only; equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot
Payload: 50 shots. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 60 shots
Market Cost: 300,000 credits, 800 credits per penetrator round

m)PS-US-RG14PS Boom Gun---PS produces a high-powered rail gun akin to the Glitterboy’s RG-14, only with a different mounting, style, and lack of laser-reflective armor
Range: 11,000 ft
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per shot
Sonic shock effects remain unchanged.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 180 rd drum. Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 180 shots
Cost: 280,000 credits

n)Mini-Missile Rifles(x2)---Available to the Paladin Steel versions. PS-MMLR-14 Mini-Missile Launcher ---One of Paladin Steel’s minor triumphs of reverse-engineering has been the knockoff of the Coalition’s CCT-M20 Missile Rifle,complete down to the light laser, but modified to take advantage of PS’s advancements in lighter weight composites and ceramics. Has the advantage of having a light laser for additional firepower. Can be mounted singly or in two-gun mounts.
Range:(Mini-Missiles) Varies by Missile Type(usually about 1 mile)
(Laser) 2,000 ft
Damage:(Mini-Missiles)Varies by Missile Type
(Laser) 2d6 MD per blast
Rate of Fire:(Mini-Missiles) Volleys of 1, 2, or 4
(Laser) ECHH
Payload:(Mini-Missiles)20 per launcher(10 per launch tube)
(Laser) Effectively Unlimited attached to an external generator, or 20 shots per standard E-clip/30 per long E-clip as backup.
Each cargo pannier can hold an additional 20 mini-missiles
Cost: 36,000 credits per launcher


o)Short Range-Missile Drums(2)---This is simply a copy of Triax’s TX-871MM Rotary Missile Drum
Range: Varies by Missile Type(Short Range)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type(Short Range)
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-48
Payload: 48 each drum, 96 total.
Cost: 6.2 million credits, 7 million credits for a complete system with separate targeting system(+2 to strike with the missiles within a 6,000 ft range)

p) Pulse Lasers(2)
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 3d6 MD single shot, 6d6 MD short burst, 1d6x10 MD medium burst( 20 shots, 2 attacks), 2d6x10 MD long burst(40 shots, 2 attacks), 4d6x10 MD full magazine burst(80 shots, no bonuses to strike...does 3d6 MD to 4d4 targets if in a spray attack).
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 25 shots from the standard e-clip in the forward holder, 70 shots from a regenerating canister e-clip, Effectively Unlimited if nuclear powered.
Cost: 78,000 credits per cannon

q)Laser Cannon Pod(1)---A heavier single-barrel laser cannon, based on a weapon acquired from South America(the ATL-7 Anti-Tank Laser)
Range: 3,000 ft
Damage: 3d6x10+10 MD per single shot
Rate of Fire: Four shots per melee
Payload: 100 shot battery. Effectively Unlimited if nuclear powered.
Cost: 180,000 credits

r)PSMBL-5000B Laser Cannon(1)---Based on an imported Japanese weapon design
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: 4d6 MD double blast, 1d4x10+8 MD quad blast, 1d6x10 MD full 5-shot blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 100 shot battery. Effectively Unlimited if nuclear powered.
Cost: 100,000 Credits

s)Ion Cannon(1)
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 200 shot battery for conventionally-powered models, effectively unlimited for nuclear-powered
Cost: 240,000 credits
*Options: For additional credits, the ion cannon can be modified for a scatter-shot mode; Reduce range to 2,000 ft, but does 5d6 MD to a 15 ft wide area. Cost: 9,000 credits

t)Heavy Ion Cannon(1)
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 1d6x10+10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 200 shot battery. Effectively unlimited if attached to a nuclear powerplant.
Cost: 250,000 credits

u)Ion Assault Cannon(1)---This is a copy of Triax’s TX-884I Ion Cannon/Missile Launcher rig for the Jaeger, complete with medium range missile launchers.
Range: (Ion Cannon) 4,000 ft
(Medium Range Missiles) Varies by Missile Type
Damage: (Ion Cannon) 1d6x 10 MD per blast
(Medium Range Missiles) Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: (Ion Cannon) ECHH
(Medium Range Missiles) Volleys of 1-4
Payload: (Ion Cannon) Effectively Unlimited
(Medium Range Missiles) 6 per launch box, 12 total
Cost: 8 million credits

v) Particle Beam Cannon(1)---PS-AWD-DBPBC-2; based on the Mechanoid Exterminator Double-Barreled Particle Beam Cannon
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 1d4x 10 MD single blast
2d4x10 MD double blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 200 shot battery. Effectively unlimited linked to nuclear power source.
Cost: 3.8 million credits

w)Particle Beam Cannon(1)-----a knockoff of Triax’s TX-843CP
Range: 3,000 ft
Damage: 2d4x10 MD single blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 120 shot battery. Effectively unlimited linked to nuclear power source.
Cost: 7.8 million credits

x)Plasma Cannon(1)
Range: 2000 ft
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per blast*
*Can be increased by 50% with a ‘hot shot’ injection of deuterium gas
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 200 shot battery for conventionally-powered models, effectively unlimited for nuclear-powered
Deuterium Gas Reservoir has enough gas under pressure for 200 shots.
Cost: 100,000 credits, plus 3,500 credits per deuterium ‘hotshot’ cartridge.

y)Heavy Plasma Cannon(1)
Range: 1,200 ft
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per single blast, 2d6x10 MD per double blast
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee
Payload: 200 shot battery. Effectively Unlimited if nuclear powered.
Cost: 60,000 credits for one, 120,000 credits for dual mounting

z) Tools---- Backhoe---Rather than a weapon, the cyborg can mount a digger on the rear pintle instead. Alternatively, the cyborg can mount an A-frame hoist, winch and crane on the rear pintle.
Cost: 5,000 credits for the backhoe, 3,000 credits for the A-frame and winch.


2) Forearm-Mounted Weapons(2)---These are conventional cyborg forearm hardpoints that can accept any of the standard cyborg forearm weapons.


3)(Optional) Back Hardpoint Mount---Copied from Russian hardware, this fits a more traditional shoulder/back-mounted heavy weapon pintle on a powered gyro-stabilized mount. For those who really want to max out on firepower.

4) Hand-held weapons---Maczek conversions can pick up and use any infantry-scale weapon, including cyborg-scaled weaponry. Russian Warlord weapons are a favorite, along with Triax weapons if they can be obtained.


5)Hand to Hand Combat---The Maczek is limited to performing upper-body attacks, such as punches, and possibly ramming and riding over fallen opponents.
Restrained Punch 1d4 MD
Full Strength Punch 2d4 MD
Power Punch( 2 attacks) 4d4 MD
Judo-Style Throw/Flip 1d6 MDC
Body Block/Ram: (2 attacks) 1d8 MD

Options:
The Maczek can be fitted with any of the standard cybernetic and bionic features in the Rifts books. Favorite options include fitting the 'borg with additional weaponry and sensors. Unless the cyborg is a non-human, extra limbs are rarely ever added.

*Grapnel Launcher and Winch----Compressed air launcher for a cable hook/grapple and tow line. Range: 100 ft and body-attached winch can pull up to 4 tons. Cable has roughly 5 MDC. Typically used for extricating the cyborg from mud, and hoisting it up slopes. Two can be mounted, one fore and one aft. Cost: 10,000 credits

*Turret-Table---This fits the tread chassis with a turntable atop it, allowing the weapon pintle and upper torso to turn as one unit and be brought to bear without having to reposition the lower body, allowing for any mounted heavy weapons a full 360-degree arc of fire. This option adds 400 lbs and 6 inches of height to the cyborg, but increases range of motion considerably.
Cost: 40,000 credits

*Gunshield---The rear gun mount can be fitted with a larger than normal gun shield that affords protection to both the weapon and the cyborg’s upper torso. In standard operations, this effectively protects the cyborg’s back. MDC: 180, Cost: 24,000 Credits


*Thermal Armor---More often than not seen on foundry worker cyborgs. Special heat-resistant materials designed originally for reentry vehicle shielding. Heat and plasma-based attacks do 1/4 damage
----Cost: +1 million credits

*Chemical Resistant Armor----PS’s patented chemically inert armor that sheds the effects of corrosive chemicals and stick’ums. Acids and chemical weapons do NO damage. Often seen on hazmat response worker cyborgs.
----Cost: +1.1 million credits

*Tesla Fist---This takes up the space of any forearm weapons in an arm, and mounts a powerful electrical/ion projection system
Range:(Tazer) Melee
(SDC Beam) 2,000 ft
(Shock Bolt) 2,000 ft
Damage:(Tazer)Similar to a Shock Rod; 5d6 SDC, plus 55% chance of stunning humans, d-bees, and small animals for 1d4 melees, 15% against large or inhumanly powerful beings. Cumulative effects same as for Electro-Stunner(see pg 50 of Coalition: Lone Star).
(SDC Beam) 1d6 SDC shock-burn. Plus, victims must make a save of 14 or better, or be -8 to strike, parry, and dodge for 2d6 melees. A savings throw versus non-lethal poison means the person is unimpaired. 25% chance of knocking out unshielded cybernetics for 1d4 melees, and a 75% chance of permanently frying nanotech devices(like Armor-dissolving nanites or RMK/IRMSS systems).
(Shock Bolt)4d6+5 MD per single shot, 55% chance of knocking out unshielded cybernetics for 1d4 melees. On an unmodified roll of 18-20, it causes unshielded BIONICS and robots to spasm for 1d4 melees(Cyborg is at HALF bonuses to strike, parry, dodge, roll, and is -3 to initiative. Reduce speed by HALF).
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
Cost: 74,000 credits

*Body Spikes----Many Maczeks invest in mounting spikes over portions of their cyborg bodies. These typically add 1d4 SDC/MD damage to punches and inflict similar damage on anybody punching or tackling the cyborg. Cost: 4,000-10,000 credits depending on number and placement.

* Smoke Mortars---Mountable gas grenade launchers for providing covering smoke. 1-4 clusters are typically mounted.
Range: 500 ft
Damage: None, smoke(chemical agents such as tear gas can be substituted) in 10 ft radius.
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2,3, 4, or 6
Payload: 6 smoke grenades per launcher, 12 total
Cost: 3,500 credits for the launchers

*Flechette Packs----Located around the cyborg, especially on the lower torso, are special ‘reactive armor’ panels that can be also be triggered as antipersonnel grenades, just like those mounted on AFVs. This is one of several similar systems currently in service/under development by PS.
Range: 100 ft
Damage: 5d6 MD to a cone swath roughly 50 ft long, by 10 ft wide.
Used as reactive armor against plasma and armor-piercing missiles, the computerized firing system acts as a PARRY, rolling to match or better the missile’s strike roll...a successful counter means that the missile damage is HALVED, while a failure means the ‘borg takes full damage. Note: when dealing with volleys, one reactive armor pack can match TWO missiles in a volley, so in order to effectively counter a five missile volley, the tank must expend 3 reactive armor packs...two packs would roll twice to defeat their respective missiles, the third would only roll once. If the enemy missile launcher has a line of sight on the ‘borg, they can target a spot on the hull which has no packs covering it (a called shot), in which case the remaining reactive armor is -4 to cover the gap.
Rate of Fire: One at a time or can be simultaneously fired in volleys of 1-4
Payload: Each side of the ‘borg(sides, front, back) can be fitted with one flechette pack each(4 total). Two more can be mounted on the weapon gunshield(if any)
Cost: 200 credits per flechette pack

*Mine Detector-----A detection coil can be installed on the prow, and uses a variety of magnetic, chemical, and ground sonar detection systems to sniff out mines and buried ordinance. 85% accuracy.
Cost: 3,500 credits

*Dozer Blade---This is bulldozer/payloader blade that can be attached to the front, and raised up to 7 ft high by hydraulics, turning the cyborg into a land clearance vehicle. Very popular in winter for snow removal.
MDC of Blade: 80
Cost: 3,000 credits

*Hedgerow Cutters---A classic and simple device inspired by accounts of the Second World War, this device simply consists of sharpened blades of megadamage armor mounted to the front of the cyborg, and used for assisting in getting it through dense underbrush, though it can also aide in ramming doors and vehicles. Adds +1d4 MD to a ram attack. Cost: 1,000 credits
A vibroblade version is also available; it does 3d6 MD and costs 15,000 credits.

*Heavy Duty Treads---Designed for SERIOUS offroading, with heavier tread-pads(some call them ‘claws’), these treads can allow the cyborg to speed up 60-degree slopes, and have heavier armor(150 MDC each) but tend to tear up the landscape and reduce speed to 60 MPH). Cost: 40,000 credits a set.

*Extendable Grousers---Extendable/retractable extensions to the outside edge of the tracks, expanding the surface contact area, and improving traction over soft earth and snow(no movement penalties for traveling over either surface). A flip of a switch deploys/deactivates them. Compatible with Heavy Tracks and Stealth Tracks. Cost: 80,000 credits a set.

*Stealth Treads---Specially articulated treads that reduce the noise generated by the mechanical movement. Reduce speed by 1/3, but base prowl ability of 65%.
Cost: 50,000 credits a set.

*Camou-Shroud---A variant of PS’s portable ‘scrambler’ shelter, only larger to cover the tank. This is a portable folding shelter that can be erected in minutes, providing protection from the elements, limited megadamage protection, as well as concealment from electronic and infrared/thermographic detection.
The ‘Shelter’ consists of a yard-long ‘can’ that looks like a large drum. When activated, about a dozen articulated ‘spider leg’ structural members of carbon composite branch out, anchor themselves in the ground, and form the skeleton of a dome-shaped igloo roughly 7 ft tall by 20 ft in diameter. The pod then deploys a cover sheet of special plastics, with a camouflage print, and integral sensor-baffling elements.
The Camouflage pattern sheet can be chemo-switched to any one of seven different configurations. The support elements create a degaussing ‘bubble’ that scrambles radar signals(incoming and outgoing), as well as disrupting magnetic resonances(fouling Magnetic Anomaly Detectors), while the fabric itself insulates and dissipates the infrared and thermal emissions and signatures of the occupants, rendering those means of detection less effective.
Care must be taken in setting up the Shelter---The igloo is not invisible to naked eyeball optical searches, so ‘blending’ the shelter into the natural landscape contours is essential for best results. For maximum comfort, a ground sheet or surfacing can be put down first.
The entire shelter can deploy/retract for stowage in 1 melee
MDC: The tent provides about 60 MDC of protection, however, against explosions, it is less effective(being non-rigid, shockwaves pass through its fabric), so explosives will do HALF damage to the occupants, regardless of how much MDC is left in the tent.
Special Features:
*Waterproofing
*Fire Proofing---Can handle temperatures up to 300 degrees centigrade. Normal fires do NO damage
*Minimal Radiation Shielding--The fabric shell provides some protection against radiation(such as that from expended U-rounds laying nearby, or fallout), but is not recommended for protection in ‘hot’ zones (good for maybe 5-6 minutes of exposure).
*Chameleon-cloth Fabric---Can assume one of seven preset color configurations.
*Thermal Insulation-Infrared and Thermographic sensors are -20% to detect the shelter.
*Electronic Insulation- Radar, MAD, and EM sensors are -15% to detect the shelter
*Extendable Fiber-optic Periscope
Cost: 80,000 credits; currently unavailable outside GNE military forces and approved affiliates.

Variants:

*PS-R-15 ----Fully robotic version of the Maczek. Both labor and combat versions are employed in the GNE.
Programming:
The following MILITARY Robot Programs are available to the R-15, at a 25% discount: Basic Military Combat, Military Communications Language Program, Mechanical, Military Support, Pilot Related, Special(Basic) Hand to Hand Combat Program, Weapons Proficiencies(Ancient), Weapons Proficiencies(Modern).
An ABBREVIATED version of the Military Strike Force program, focusing strictly on bomb-disposal, is also available, with the following skills: Basic Electronics 90%, Basic Mechanics 90%, Demolitions 94%, Demolitions Disposal 92%, Demolitions Underwater 90%, Computer Operation 96%, and Trap/Mine Detection 85%, and costs 500,000 credits
Military Communications : Basic, Military Communications Specialized, Military Intelligence, Military : Naval/Aquatic, , Military Specialized Physical, Military Strike Force, Personality Emulation Program, Technical: Computers, and Wilderness are all available, but at the standard cost.
Can be programmed with any of the Domestic/Commercial Programs(Discount the price of programming by 25% for in-GNE sales).

[taalismn]

Very nice. I know several of our mages would like to own these. I know it looks very nice. My merc companies are on paper and not on my computer. At least not yet. I know I have yet to type them in.

Please do(type them in). You'll find that transfering from memory and paper to a more readily revisable format will allow you to clean up your ideas and allow you to update them much faster. Make sure to make back ups, Then post...that allows interested parties to know what to pitch, market-wise, to them, and the feedback helps refine your original ideas and even improve them. It moves them from 'nebulous notion' to 'creative grit'.

[taalismn]

illo up for the Maczek:
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp16 ... 66136a.jpg

[abtex]

Petty.

Are those ‘Maczeks’ going fishing? Do they also come with Boat hulls of your tank-ed out cyborgs or something used by your "Ladies of steel parts"?

Edit: It's something for his Shemarrian's ladies (term used lightly )
But roll on boat hull for "Maczeks" would be a nice touch.

[taalismn]

Petty.

Are those ‘Maczeks’ going fishing? Do they also come with Boat hulls of your tank-ed out cyborgs or something used by your "Ladies of steel parts"?

Edit: It's something for his Shemarrian's ladies (term used lightly )
But roll on boat hull for "Maczeks" would be a nice touch.

It's certainly an idea...the Japanese used fore and aft pontoons on some of their best amphibious tanks.

[taalismn]

(Based on a description and skeletal stats by 89er)

Paladin Steel PP-89 NovaGaze Plasma Pistol
(aka ‘Super-Bic’)
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/img343_zps70794dc8.jpg

“Mighty unsportin’ of you, pulling a plasma gun on a man in a mano-a-mano fight.”
“You’re only saying that because I managed to burn your legs off before you could stick that vibroblade through my skull.”
“Well...yeah...you dirty rotten cheatin’ louse...how wuz I supposed to know you wuz packing a heater? But thanks for getting me to the doc!”
“You’re paying for him.”
“...you are total scum...”

Created as a test to see how well a plasma weapon could hold its firepower when stripped to the basics, the PP-89 is a bare-bones plasma pistol that isn’t far removed from a plasma torch in both mechanism and size. In fact, it WOULD resemble the pistol grip-end of a plasma cutter, if not for Paladin Steel electing to make SOME concessions to user safety, in the form of a wrap-around grip housing that protects the user’s hand from thermal and radiation damage. The new housing also makes the weapon easier to conceal and draw from clothing, as it prevents snagging. This has commended the PP-89 as a good self-defense and hold-out weapon.
The original configuration also had problems drawing in ambient atmosphere to convert to plasma, limiting the number of shots that could be fired as the weapon’s open mechanism tended to create a positive overpressure around it after each shot that prevented enough gas to be drawn in to effectively feed sequential full-power firing. The inclusion of the new housing allowed for a ‘forced draft’ that feeds atmospheric gas in faster and smoother to the plasma superheating mechanism.
The PP-89’s weakness is that it lacks the bite of other plasma weapons but surprisingly makes up in range(though it’s typically used for engagements in the 50-200 ft ranges, due to its basic sights) and efficient energy usage(though it is not recommended to use anything other than short- or standard-e-clips with the PP89, as anything larger spoils its concealability and quick-draw qualities). Though the original concept was not recommended as a bludgeoning tool, the inclusion of the handguard makes the PP89 an effective pair of brass knuckles in a pinch.
The PP-89 isn’t a war-winner by any stretch of the imagination; there’s more powerful pistols out on the market, and anybody needing serious plasma firepower can find any number of heavier weapons available. However, the PP-89 does offer a low cost self-defense weapon for those needing megadamage capability on-hand in a dangerous megaverse.
Weight: 2.6 pounds
Range: 800 feet
Damage: 1D6 Damage
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 40 shots per e-clip.
Special Features:
*Handguard---Besides protecting the shooter’s hand from burn damage, the reinforced handguard adds +1 SD to punches
Cost: 10,000 credits

Variants:
*PP-89G----This is a stripped down version of the PP-89, meant as an accessory secondary weapon to the GunLoc I system. It resembles the original stripped-down prototype of the weapon, and cannot be effectively used as a separate hand weapon without risk to the user(no handguard, so unprotected users take 1d6 SD burn damage to their hands per shot taken, and the weapon is unbalanced; -1 to strike).
Cost: 9,000 credits


Paladin Steel PP-90 Noveye Plasma Pistol
(aka ‘Nova-Stare’, ‘Mini-Bic’, ‘Hot-Point’ )
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/img349_zps0063f299.jpg

“Anywhere else we might be in trouble. But here we got a chokepoint, range is limited, and the enemy has to come at us down a straightaway with no cover, unlike our position. We choose our ground well, even a pop-shooter like the Hot-Point can prove murderous. As long as we’re careful not to get trapped, we can burn zombies all day.”

The PP-90 is an even more pared-down version of the PP-89 and is arguably the lightest production-issue e-clip-powered plasma weapon on Rifts Earth. The PP-90 uses an even more simplified frame than the PP-89, with more straight lines and fewer curved molding, although it retains the wrap-around hand-guard and cooling/forced-draft shroud of the PP-89. The PP-90 accepts standard e-clips; short e-clips are prefered to keep the weapon compact. The PP-90 does less damage and shorter range(note, though, that payload remains high due to less battery draw per shot), making the weapon better suited for self-defense than offensive operations. However, the weapon’s even smaller size and more compact mass make it even more concealable than the PP-89, and a number of criminals and assassins have adopted the weapon(much to PS’s dismay) as their close-up ‘whack-gun’ of choice against ‘soft’(i.e. unarmored non-MDC) targets.
Weight: 2 pounds
Range: 150 feet
Damage: 1D4 Damage
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 25 shots short e-clip, 50 shots per e-clip.
Special Features:
*Handguard---Besides protecting the shooter’s hand from burn damage, the reinforced handguard adds +1 SD to punches
Cost: 8,000 credits

[taalismn]

(Apologies to Killer Cyborg...I got the idea from him)

Paladin Steel PSLR-51 ‘Kasey’ Pump-Action Laser Rifle
(aka ‘Loophole’, ‘Amper’, ‘Pumpy’, ‘Pumper’)

“I’m telling you, the physics of this thing don’t make any sense! It SHOULDN’T be able to generate that much power with just a simple action! It violates several fundamental laws of-”
#KER-CHAK#
“I think of it as physics erring in our favor for once, Professor! Now stay back with Mary-Anne, because the monster’s coming this way and this ain’t going to be pretty!”

First marketed in the Three Galaxies as a possible competitor to the Colonial Hi-Laser Rifle, the PSLR-51 ‘Kasey’ Pump-Action Laser Rifle is meant to be a simple, durable, ‘wilderness rifle’ for colonists, adventurers, and weekend warriors. The weapon has since begun appearing on Rifts Earth where it’s already being snapped up off the racks as quickly as it is being manufactured.
Resembling a classic long-barrel Remington or Mossberg pump-action shotgun with a slightly longer pump-slide, the ‘Kasey’ is actually a fairly standard laser rifle of modest performance. Where there would normally be a cartridge ejection port, there is a standard e-clip insertion slot, allowing for the rifle to be powered in the conventional manner. But the real difference comes in the internal power mechanism; the ‘Kasey’ combines PS high-efficiency room-temperature superconductors with the modified kinetic energy generator-convertor of the Native American NA-LB1 Laser Bow to give the weapon the ability to be powered by muscle-power. Working the slide(it takes a P.S. of 12 of better to be able to haul back on it) ‘reloads’ the weapon with a single energy shot in the capacitor. Note that the charge will only last 1 hour before dissipating, multiple shots cannot be stored up, nor can the system be used to recharge an attached e-clip.
The ‘Kasey’ enjoys slightly better range than the NA-LB1, though, thanks to the encased barrel optics that allow for tighter beam focus. Twisting a ring on the barrel allows the beam to be focused even more, albeit at the cost of damage potential, or the beam can be fanned out for shorter range, but with an area of effect, shotgun-style.
The ‘Kasey’ is also built tough, of rugged megadamage alloys and composites, and the gun can serve as a club in a pinch. Durable waterproof and corrosion-resistant construction also means the weapon can take a manhandling and battering in combat and from the elements and still remain operational. This, and the fact that the ‘Kasey’ can be used even when the e-clips run out, has translated into substantial sales to frontier and wilderness communities, both on Earth and in the extradimensional markets.
The success of the ‘Kasey’ has PS looking to adapt the kinetic-conversion mechanism to ion and plasma weapons as well.

Weight: 7 lbs
MDC: 35
Range:(Standard) 1,300 ft
(Long) 2,000 ft
(Shotgun)500 ft
Damage:(Standard) 2d6 MD
(Long) 2d4 MD
(Shotgun)2d4 MD to a 12 ft area
Rate of Fire: Pump-powering a shot takes 2 APM. For standard e-clip-fed operation, it is single shot, ECHH.
Payload: Single shot, but conditionally unlimited using the pump-action.
Using an e-clip means 12 shots for a standard e-clip, 36 shots from a long e-clip.
Special Features:
*Side-mount E-clip
*Sight Rail for mounting various existing sights and scopes.
*Underbarrel Rail for mounting flashlights or bayonets.
*Compatible with laser-pulse ignition adaptor for PS Rifle Grenades.
Cost: 12,000 credits
Options:
*Optional Forward Hand Grip. Cost: 200 credits

[Aramanthus]

Those are some awesome new things. We here in the Federated States are interested in getting these things. I know we have several volunteers able to undergo the cyborg operation.

[Godogma]

Is it just me ... or was the Skipper holding off things with a pump action laser while telling the Professor to stay back with Mary Anne?

[taalismn]

Is it just me ... or was the Skipper holding off things with a pump action laser while telling the Professor to stay back with Mary Anne?

Gilligan shouldn't have drunk the contents of that bottle that washed ashore....

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel PSIR-15 ‘Westing’ Pump-Action Ion Rifle
(aka ‘Shock-Pump’)

“Shockley, Mentz, Pieters, on the barricade! Crossfire! Nimlitz, take the Westing and give Schummer your spare clips! Come on, people!”
“Rog, why I getting the pumper and giving away my clips?”
“Because Schummer’s smaller, but a better shot, and he’s got a Maxi. You’re a juicer, you got better speed and strength than any of us here, so even taking time out to pump a charge into that thing, you’re STILL faster than the rest of us! Now! Positions, everybody!”

The PSIR-15 is a modest ion rifle constructed incorporating the same kinetic-conversion pump-slide as the PSLR-51 ‘Kasey’ Pump-Action Laser Rifle. Triax already claims that the weapon is a shallow copy of the workings of the WR-17 Wilderness ‘Double’ Rifle with regards to the ion component, but PS contends that it isn’t(besides, the WR-17’s technology is common domain, so why is Triax making a fuss?).
The PSIR-15 resembles a pump-action shotgun of Ithaca or Remington(particularly the Remington M870) manufacture, with a longer pump-slide under the barrel. Though the weapon accepts standard e-clips through a slot-receiver in the side of the frame, the weapon can also be manually recharged by working the pump-action. With the modest application of a P.S. of 12 or better, the rifle can be recharged with a single shot per slide-pump, though only one shot can be held in the capacitor at a time.
As with the other ‘Pumpers’, the PSIR-15 can be switched between long-ranged ion bolt mode and a shorter-ranged ‘shotgun’ blast with the twist of an adjustment ring on the barrel. The PSIR-15 also has a ‘shock’ mode that can be used to stun targets with a powerful electrical pulse.
Though having slightly shorter range than the PSLR-51, the ‘Westing’ otherwise boasts nearly identical performance to the laser. The ion discharge draws slightly less power, so it’s more economical in terms of power consumption. The lack of a more focused ‘sniper’ range setting is compensated for with the option of adding several barrel modifications. Like the ‘Kasey’, the ‘Westing’ has a similarly tough and durable construction, meant for relatively maintenance-free operation in harsh field conditions.
Like the ‘Kasey’, the ‘Westing’ is expected to sell well in wilderness areas. Its ‘stun’ setting makes it popular with local constabularies looking for a dual-purpose weapon with both reduced-lethality and combat fire modes.
Weight: 7.1 lbs
MDC: 35
Range:(Standard) 1,000 ft
(Shotgun)500 ft
(Shock-Stun) 800 ft
Damage:(Standard) 2d6 MD per blast
(Shotgun)2d4 MD to a 12 ft area
(Shock-Stun)3d6 SDC shock-burn to a 12 ft area. Plus, victims must make a save of 14 or better, or be -8 to strike, parry, and dodge for 2d6 melees. A savings throw versus non-lethal poison means the person is unimpaired. 25% chance of knocking out unshielded cybernetics for 1d4 melees, and a 75% chance of permanently frying nanotech devices(like Armor-dissolving nanites or RMK/IRMSS systems). Cannot work through EBA or power armor.
Rate of Fire: Pump-powered a shot takes 2 APM. From a standard e-clip, it is single shot, ECHH
Payload: Single shot, but conditionally unlimited using the pump-action.
Using an e-clip means 28 shots for a standard e-clip, 45 shots from a long e-clip.
Special Features:
*Side-mount E-clip
*Sight Rail for mounting various existing sights and scopes.
*Underbarrel Rail for mounting flashlights or bayonets.
Cost: 12,000 credits
Options:
*Optional Forward Hand Grip. Cost: 200 credits

*Ion Focal Booster Module---Aka ‘Puncher’---This barrel attachment improves the focus of the ion pulse density, improving damage at the cost of range. Reduce range to 400 ft, but up damage to 5d6 MD per shot. Note, however, that the weapon also suffers sharp ‘kick-up’ giving it a -1 to strike, when fired single-handed; a foregrip for two-handed bracing is recommended(and provided as part of the kit). Adding this unit takes up the underbarrel rail position. Cost: 5,000 credits.

*Laser Sight Module---Another underbarrel attachment, this consists of an improved laser sight that adds a bonus to strike, but the laser also creates a temporary ‘guidepath’ of disturbed/ionized air that slightly improves the striking power of the ion bolts. +2 to Strike, and +3 to damage per bolt. This can be used in conjunction with the other barrel attachments, but added damage is reduced to +2 MD. Cost: 1,000 credits

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel PSPPR-23 ‘Corona’ Pump-Action Plasma Rifle
(aka ‘Plasma-pumper’, ‘Sunburn’)

#SZZZARZZZ!#
///sizzzzllllleee///
-thud-THUD-
“And that’s what your enemies get if they try to count your shots to see when your e-clip is going to go empty. This piece of pipe here might not be the most powerful plasma-shooter around, but I do love a gun I don’t have to constantly worry about hoarding my shots!”

The PSPPR-23 is the third(and final) in PS’s series of ‘pumper’ energy rifles adapting the Native American NA-LB1 kinetic-conversion recharge system to a slide-action energy weapon. The ‘Corona’ is a modest weapon, resembling more than anything else a pump-action shotgun of Ithaca or Armscor make(especially the Armscor M30R6), with a longer pump-slide under the barrel. As with the PSLR-51 and PSIR-15, working the slide on the PSPPR-23 with a P.S. of 12 or better will prime the weapon with enough power for one shot(though the rifle is also capable of using a regular e-clip).
As with the other ‘Pumpers’, the PSPPR-23’s fire-mode can be adjusted with a twist of a barrel ring; the plasma rifle can fire in straight bolt mode or a widespread ‘shotgun’ blast, albeit at much shorter range.
Like the other weapons in the series, the ‘Corona’ is built rugged tough, and sold cheap(for a plasma weapon), ensuring customer interest, if only for a good solid back-up weapon.
The ‘Corona’ isn’t as powerful as other plasma weapons such as the Northern Gun NG-E4, but it IS considerably lighter, cheaper, and easier to handle. The PSPPR-23’s biggest drawback is that the weapon isn’t nearly as efficient as the PSLR-51 and PSIR-15, the energy needed to produce superheated plasma greater than that required for laser or ion discharges. The PSPPR-23 does good damage, but at short range(many laser and ion PISTOLS have better range), limiting its effectiveness in combat operations. However, as a wilderness defensive weapon, the PSPPR-23 is quite serviceable, and the rifle is gaining popularity in many frontier and wilderness communities.
Weight: 8 lbs
MDC: 35
Range:(Standard) 900 ft
(Shotgun)400 ft
Damage:(Standard) 5d6 MD per shot
(Shotgun)3d6 MD to a 12 ft area
Rate of Fire: Pump-powering a shot takes 2 APM. For standard e-clip-fed operation, it is single shot, ECHH.
Payload: Single shot, but conditionally unlimited using the pump-action.
Using an e-clip means 12 shots for a standard e-clip, 36 shots from a long e-clip.
Special Features:
*Side-mount E-clip
*Sight Rail for mounting various existing sights and scopes.
*Underbarrel Rail for mounting flashlights or bayonets.
Cost: 17,000 credits
Options:
*Optional Forward Hand Grip. Cost: 200 credits

[89er]

Good assortment of directed energy boomsticks.

[taalismn]

Good assortment of directed energy boomsticks.

Part of the Paladin Steel low-high cycle of production...lots of inexpensive simple systems to help finance the big-ticket BFG projects. Hope to get a few of those out soon, but RL has handed me a few weeks of odd work scheduling, so work on accompanying art grinds down...so, boomsticks in the interim.

[89er]

What is Paladin Steel/GNE/Alliance policy on citizens who are undead (Non-feral Zombies, Different physiology vampires, spirits, ect.) or as would be considered anthropomorphic. Would they be considered Dbees, and able to form relationships with people?

On that note, how does the Alliance weed out xenophobic elements caused by experience on Rifts Earth when dealing with different universes?

[taalismn]

What is Paladin Steel/GNE/Alliance policy on citizens who are undead (Non-feral Zombies, Different physiology vampires, spirits, ect.) or as would be considered anthropomorphic. Would they be considered Dbees, and able to form relationships with people?

On that note, how does the Alliance weed out xenophobic elements caused by experience on Rifts Earth when dealing with different universes?

We frankly haven't had enough contact with them to have definite policies. Admittedly, though, any undead would be scrutinized VERY carefully (using technological and magical means) for malign influences, connections, and virulence(is the condition transmittable? Containable?). If they authorities can discern the exact nature of the animating agency and it clears public safety outlines, then they are treated like any other d-bee. They would be regarded as another form of life, like energy lifeforms or sentient artificial intelligences.
In the case of 'animated by dark forces, but honestly not evil/seeking sanctuary, the GNE has a number of magic treatments for severing malign influences(originating in efforts to remove Splugorth parasites and containing witches and summoners) that would be offered, with the stipulation that such treatment might be very painful and even fatal. Those who refuse treatment are escorted to the border and booted out(possibly referred to another kingdom to seek a cure.
Malign undead(those who refuse examination/questioning and treatment) and who pose a clear threat to public safety are treated accordingly....typically destroyed.

Overall, GNE policy is 'trust, but verify' with a healthy dose of caution.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel ‘Armadillo’ Assault Cyborg
(‘Roller’, ‘Cyberzilla’, ‘Armazilla’)
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/img288_zps4a3f2d31.jpg

“Hey, let’s go bowling for brodkil!”

“Another requisition for a new command car from the Whykin front.”
“That’s like, what, the third one this week? What’s the damage report say?”
“Crushed, like all the previous ones. ‘Steamrolled’ is the exact wording.”
“Geez, can’t the commander down there stay out of the way of big heavy objects?”

“...a sad day...indeed...to be so...crushed...humbled....dishonored...by...a gaijin brute...imitating...an armored rat....”
---Last words of Tetsuya Aikawa, shinobi, in service to Otomo, after encountering an Armadillo cyborg during an abortive raid on the Paladin Steel enclave on Takamatsu.

The Armadillo Assault Cyborg is a new cyborg design recently put out by Paladin Steel and is unique in its designed manner of getting around. It ROLLS.
As its name suggests, the Armadillo is heavily armored(it’s among the most heavily armored cyborgs on Earth), with short, thick limbs, small head, and a heavily carapaced back. Like its namesake, the Armadillo can curl up into a large ball, its armored legs and arms helping complete the spheroid seal, and its head almost completely covered by the expanding armor plates. Unlike its animal inspiration, the cyborg Armadillo CAN roll along, independent of gravity, thanks to a series of jumpjet boosters in the back and legs that can propel the rolled-up cyborg along. Though these cyber-jet nodes aren’t powerful enough to give the cyborg true flight, and they fairly labor to lift the massive weight of robotics and armor on leaps, they CAN give the hulking cyborg a stiff push in the right places. Those same jets give the cyborg a degree of agility that would seem unthinkable in something so massive, and the hulking cyborg can move like a whirlwind in melee combat.
Because the heavy weight and placement of armor affects the normal arcs of motion for head and torso, the Armadillo is studded with numerous sensor ‘pits’ containing heat and motion sensors, that give the cyborg greater all-around sensor coverage and reduce its chances of being surprised from a blind quarter. These sensor pits also serve as the cyborg’s ‘eyes’ during ball-mode, and allow it to navigate, even when apparently blind.
The main shortcomings of the Armadillo are that it isn’t as fast or agile in normal locomotion as many other cyborgs, due to its heavy armor and short legs. It’s also massively heavy, which means it is restricted to moving on surfaces and structures able to bear up under its weight. Another problem is that integral weapons are constrained by the need to be able to fit within the body frame when rolled up; large external weapons thus cannot be carried when the cyborg ‘balls up’ and rolls.
Because of its eccentric design and animalistic styling, the Armadillo is often assumed by others to be the work of part-time Paladin Steel subcontractor and full-time eccentric Doctor Calvin Howletts, the ‘Doctor Moreau of the Cyborgs’. In fact, the Armadillo is NOT one of his designs, though it resulted in a brief legal spat between PS and Howletts, the latter claiming that the design was based on one of his earlier notions and that he wasn’t accredited for it. PS managed to placate Howletts with proof of the design’s development lineage(and a small research grant), and was soon back to building Armadillos.

Type: PS--FC-16 Armadillo
Class: Full conversion Borg, Combat-Assault
Crew: One volunteer
M.D.C. By Location:
Hands(2) 50 each
Arms(2) 300 each
Legs(2) 300 each
*Head 300
**Main Body 700
*Destroying the head of a Cyborg will kill the character!
However, the head is a small and difficult target to hit and heavily shielded from behind. The attacker must make a called shot and even then he is -3 to strike(-6 from behind). The hands, and forearms are also difficult targets to hit and are -4 to strike on a called shot.
**Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will effectively
destroy the artificial body, but emergency systems will keep the brain and
vital organs alive for 36 hours. Recovery of the severely damaged body
will enable doctors to place the character on life support systems that
will keep him alive until a new bionic body (same style or other) is
available, for full conversion. Failure to find the damaged Borg within 36
hours means the character dies.

Note: The Armadillo CANNOT be fitted with any additional armor, not without interfering with ‘Roller Mode’.

Speed:
Running: 50 MPH max. However the act of running does not tire the operator out and the maximum speed can be maintained indefinitely.
(Roller Mode) 150 MPH
Jumping: The powerful robotic legs are strong and capable of leaping 10 feet high or 18 ft lengthwise. A running leap adds 50% to distance/height. A jumpjet-assisted leap can propel the cyborg TWICE that distance/height.
Flying: Not possible
Underwater: The Armadillo CANNOT swim, but sinks like a rock. Limited to running along the bottom at 6 MPH.

Statistical Data:
Average Height: 14 feet, 7 ft when rolled up.
Width: 5 feet at shoulders
Length: 4 feet, 7 ft when rolled up.
Weight: 4.6 tons
Power System: Nuclear
Physical Attributes: Equal to Robotic PS. 50, PP. 24,.
Bonuses: Standard cyborg bonuses of +3 save vs magic, impervious to
bio-manipulation
+3 initiative
+5 strike/parry
+2 dodge(+4 dodge when rolling)
+6 Roll with damage
+3 Pull Punch
Penalties: Touch/tactile sense is 60% of human norm.
Prowl penalty: -20%

Special Skills/Training---Use standard 'Borg or Shock Trooper
Armadillo-Borgs receive training in Tumbling at +10%
Black Market Cost: 12 million credits with all standard features, weapons, and sensors.

Standard Bionic Features
Note: These features are all found in the bionic and
cybernetic section of the Rifts RPG.
1. Bionic lung with gas filter & storage cell
2. Built-in language translator
3. Built-in radio receiver & transmitter
4. Clock calendar
5. Gyro-compass
6. Modulated voice synthesizer
7. Multi-optic eyes
8. Built-in loudspeaker
9. Universal headjack with amplified hearing and sound filtration systems.

Special Features:
*Skin Sensors---The many armored hull-plates of the Cyborg’s heavily armored backside conceal multiple sensors that give the Armadillo full surround-coverage even when rolled up. The Armadillo is thus -5 to be surprised from behind.

*Selective Equilibrium/Vertigo Cutoff---The cyborg’s inner ear can be ‘shut off’, preventing the cyborg from succumbing to disorientation nausea when rolling.


Weapons Systems:
1)Forearm Weapons(2x2)---Each of the broad forearms can mount two standard cyborg forearm weapons, typically a matched set.


2) Retractable Vibro-Claws---The Armadillo’s hands feature a set of powerful retractable viborclaws.
Range: Melee
Damage: 3d6 MD


3)Optional use of hand-held weapons---The cyborg can pick up and use just about any infantry-scale hand weaponry. However, carrying them in roller-mode poses a problem. The cyborgs CAN wrap themselves around a weapon like an axle, but the sphere would not be as complete and the ends of large weapons may protrude out the sides and be subject to damage. Also, carrying large weapons like this, the Armadillo is 25% slower, and only +3 to Roll with punch, fall, impact or explosion.

4)Hand to Hand Combat
Restrained Punch 1d6 MD
Full Strength Punch 3d6 MD
Power Punch( 2 attacks) 1d6x10 MD
Kick 5d8 MD
Leap Kick(2 Attacks) 1d8x10 MD
Judo-Style Throw/Flip 2d6 SDC
Body Block/Ram: (2 attacks) 1d6 MD
Rolling Ram(2 attacks) 1d6x10 MD at speeds under 60 MPH, 2d6x10 MD for speeds over 60 MPH.

Options:
The Armadillo can be fitted with any of the standard cybernetic and bionic features in the Rifts books. Favorite options include fitting the 'borg with additional concealed weaponry. However, features that interfere with the cyborg’s ability to roll up are not recommended.

Variants:
*FC-16F----’Fire-scales’ variant, clad in thermal-resistant tile armor(heat- and plasma-based attacks do 1/4 normal damage). The body-plates also conceal an array of short-range plasma projectors that fire jets of plasma, giving the cyborg the look of being sheathed in glowing flames. The plasma jets have a range of only 15 ft, but do 1d4 MD to anybody approaching the cyborg too closely, and they add +1d6 MD to punches, kicks, body blocks and rams.

*FC-16P---’Pangolin’ variant. This adds a heavily armored prehensile tail(+7 ft to length, 300 MDC). The cyborg isn’t as fast in roller mode(reduce speed by HALF), but the tail adds +1 APM, and does 4d6 MD on a tail lash.

[abtex]

Paladin Steel PSPPR-23 ‘Corona’ Pump-Action Plasma Rifle
(aka ‘Plasma-pumper’, ‘Sunburn’)

The PSPPR-23 is the third (and final) in PS’s series of ‘pumper’ energy rifles ...

Until PSW comes out with their 'level action' line of weapons. Some day, no rush.
Or PS's line of Pump-Action vehicles, like the jeep.
But most likely a version of 'Jet-powered' skates, like Bullhunter's Piston Boots.


Nice work, on your weapons.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel PSPPR-23 ‘Corona’ Pump-Action Plasma Rifle
(aka ‘Plasma-pumper’, ‘Sunburn’)

The PSPPR-23 is the third (and final) in PS’s series of ‘pumper’ energy rifles ...

Until PSW comes out with their 'level action' line of weapons. Some day, no rush.
Or PS's line of Pump-Action vehicles, like the jeep.
But most likely a version of 'Jet-powered' skates, like Bullhunter's Piston Boots.


Nice work, on your weapons.

On the Jeep: "Bounce Faster! I'm sure we can get this thing going over fifty-five miles per hour!"

And thanks. I'll have the illo for the Armadillo up by Monday, plus some more hand weapons.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel/Farnborough Aviation ‘Lanchester’ 9mm Gauss Submachine Gun

“This is my bugswatter.”

“Reginald, what was that disturbance I heard just now?”
“Master Tarrington, I’m afraid that that was a group of alien miscreants attempting to kidnap Lady Aliss for purposes vile. Not to worry though, sir, between myself and the footman, we managed to dispatch most of them and send the rest of them packing back to wherever they came from. “
“Ah, I thought I recognized your ‘Chester’ clearing his throat.”
“He had some things to say to them with rather more punctuality than I could.”

The MDSMG-07 “Lanchester’ is a lightweight, compact and powerful rail gun packaged to look like the 1940s era Lanchester SMG, itself a British copy of the high-quality WW1-vintage German Bergman MP28. A solid, reliable weapon of extremely high build quality, well-liked by its users, the Lanchester unfortunately languished due to the demands of war; the expensive machined steel and brass Lanchester was pushed out of the running by the more easily and cheaply produced Sten Gun, with its cruder metal stampings.
Seeing the high quality and effectiveness of a number of high-efficiency ‘repliweapons’, particularly miniaturized and camouflaged infantry rail guns, amongst the equipment of GNE envoy and embassy security details, Farnborough approached PS with an offer to collaborate on a series of small arms based on famous historical British weapons. Already impressed and pleased with their prior collaborative efforts, PS agreed. The Lanchester II soon was rolling off PS/FA production lines, to the delight of Kingdom of Bath investors.
The Lanchester II continues its predecessor’s reputation for high build quality, although it does so at eschewing potential savings in weight that might have come from using more modern composites and plastics. The main works of the gun are made from megadamage alloys, while the furniture of the weapon is finished ironwood. Many buyers opt for durachrome plating and additional decoration(including brass fittings) to the stock and mechanism, especially when equipping their household security. A bayonet can also be fitted under the barrel, for close-quarters combat.
With a nod to PS’s expertise with the multi-caliber/multi-munition Flex/Omni-Guns, the Lanchester II can use its gauss stators to throw regular 9mm ammunition(though it lacks the firing pin to properly fire them, combustion-style), including exploding bullets, greatly increasing the gun’s versatility. The weapon can also be switched between low-velocity and hypervelocity modes for power efficiency.
Since its introduction in the British Isles, the Lanchester II has become a favorite among the better-off security forces, particularly squires and the domestic staffs of the aristocracy, as a defense weapon. The weapon is also just recently entering the North American market via Paladin Steel outlets.
Weight: 9.5 lbs
Range: 600 ft
Damage:(9 mm P (9 x 19 mm Parabellum / Luger))
( Standard 9mm) 3d6 SD per rd (uses SDC power usage)
(NEMA-9 Saboted Round) 5d6 SD per rd (uses SDC power usage)
(Express Round) 4d6 SD(increase range to 200 ft) per rd (uses SDC power usage)
(MD Armor-Piercing Standard Gauss Shot) 1d4 MD per rd, 4d6 MD per 5-shot burst (uses MDC power usage)
(Ramjet) 1 MD per rd (uses SDC power usage)
(Gauss Ramjet) 2 MD per rd (uses MDC power usage)
(Wellington/PS Exploders) 6d6 SD per rd (uses SDC power usage)
(PSX-2) 1d4 MD per rd (uses SDC power usage)
(Gauss PSX-2) 2d4 MD per rd (uses MDC power usage)
Can chamber a variety of other ammunition types, including rubber, silver, wood, Glaser, and TW bullets.
Rate of Fire: Rated at 600 rpm. Standard.
Payload: 50 rd box/stick magazine
Buttstock e-clip is good for 600 SDC shots or 100 MD shots.
Special Features:
*Bayonet Mounting Lug
Cost: 10,000 credits
Options:
*Chrome-Plating---Cosmetic chromium shine. Cost: 800 credits.

[taalismn]

Armadillo updated with illustration(or is it properly an Armadillo-illo?).

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel PSIP-17/2098 Heavy Ion Pistol
(aka ‘Krakadoom’, ‘Kepper’)

“I’m not sure what that was, or what it did to you to deserve that sort of a greasing, but I’m fairly certain it’s not going to ever do it again.”
“It startled me.”

The PSIP-17 is a heavy ion pistol based on the reverse-engineered Kitanni KEP-Special, large numbers of which fell into PS’s hands following the Great Exodus. Though PS engineers would later use the KEP-S’s overall look and frame to produce the very successful(and very intimidating)PSPPH-12 ‘Incendii’ Plasma Pistol, work on the original ion configuration would continue, eventually being finalized in the PSIP-17. Many contend, however, that the PSIP-17 owes more to the pre-Rifts NEMA MIP-21, especially in the incorporation of a pulse-fire mode that can do tremendous damage at short range. The weapon has further been modified with Series-2098 improvements, meaning that a well-placed burst can prove particularly(some would say insanely)effective at damaging(if not outright destroying) the target.
Though only recently introduced, the PSIP-17 is already acquiring a reputation as a ‘hand cannon’, with the ability to dump its e-clip’s total potential in just a matter of seconds. Rumors that the weapon can castatrophically melt at full pulse-fire are untrue(and PS has multiple stress tests to prove it), though some users have complained of being spattered with statically-charged debris from targets destroyed at short range. The distinctive snap-crack thunder-boom of its ion bolts in air make it less than ideal for commando operations requiring stealth, but its high firepower have endeared it to close-quarters assault troops and gunfighters.
Weight: 4 lbs
MDC: 25
Range: 400 ft
Damage: 5d6 MD per shot,
1d6x10 MD double pulse shot,
2d4x10 MD triple pulse shot
On a Natural 20(Critical Strike) the ion weapon does TRIPLE damage instead of the normal double damage.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 10 blasts short e-clip, 20 from a long e-clip
Special Features:
*Optional folding buttstock
*Optional folding forward handhold
*Optional Laser Spotsight Rail
Cost: 19,000 credits

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel PS-M-82D ‘Townshend’ 81mm Mortar Cannon
(aka ‘Town-Gun’, ‘Wolfe-Gun’)

“Gart, I really wish you wouldn’t bring that thing to our trade talks. It doesn’t set the right tone.”
“To the contrary, my dear Winslowe, I think it greatly facilitates the negotiation process. And besides, remember when that one ‘honest tradesman’ turned out to be a shape-shifting demon? I think the immediate resolution to THAT situation was most satisfactory to all concerned...well, except for infernal-boy who I blew to pieces.”
“Okay, okay, but please at least don’t lay the end of the barrel on the conference table while we’re talking. People might think we were trying to intimidate them or something.”

The M-82D is a Paladin Steel copy of Free Quebec’s GBM-7-70M1 High Power Mortar, the same weapon as mounted on the QGBM-7-70 ‘Taurus’ Glitterboy. Though PS already had a very effective and lightweight dual-mode mortar system in its 60mm ‘Snapfire/’Snapdragon’, and an even more effective heavier caliber piece in the 80m ‘Maginol’, they have always been experimenting with various other projectile weapons formats.
The M-82D follows the general design and layout of the GBM-7-70M1, but PS engineers have sought to make the weapon lighter and more portable, using more advanced materials. The weapon isn’t as durable as the original Glitterboy-mounted gun(it has only 100 MDC, as opposed to the GBM-7-70M1’s 150 MDC, AND laser-resistant chroming), but is considerably lighter and less expensive to produce. The weapon can use existing Free Quebec ammunition types, as well as 80mm mortar rounds(modified through the use of a quickly-appliable adaptor ring to fit the bore). The weapon can be fired flat-trajectory or tilted back(often with the rear end placed firmly on the ground) and used as a traditional ballistic mortar. The main advantage of the M-82D over the previous systems is the integral six-shot magazine, allowing for a rapid-fire burst before reloading is required.
The M-82D has seen only limited production and distribution, given the existing aforementioned 60mm and 80mm weapons already in wide PS/GNEAS service. The M-82D is typically used as a vehicle-mounted weapon(notably, the Ontos II/Zerkat can carry six of them in place of its mini-missile rifles), though some of the larger and stronger full conversion cyborgs and smaller robot vehicles can use it like a shoulder-mount bazooka. The ‘heavy infantry’ M-82D is not terribly popular as a stand-alone weapon, as it is very heavy and awkward to handle(it would take normal beings with a combined strength of 40 just to CARRY it, and only robotically-enhanced cyborgs or supernaturally strong beings with a P.S. of 18 or better can actually FIRE the massive weapons), let alone operate in the field, especially when there are lighter and arguably more effective weapons available. It is more commonly used in the north and northwest by Irregular units on the Free Quebec borders where smuggled/stolen stocks of FQ ammunition are more available.
Regardless, the fact that PS/GNE has copied another of their weapons has NOT pleased Free Quebec(just another one of a growing list of minor grievances between the two one time trade partners). They’re also not amused that the nickname for the weapon is that of an ancient pre-Rifts British general responsible for conquering Quebec City.
Weight: 400 lbs. 1,000 lbs for a towed, carriage-borne system.
Bombs/shells weigh from 7-14 lbs.
MDC: 100
Range:(Direct-fire) 6,000 ft
(Indirect Fire) 2.2 miles
Damage:(High Explosive) 1d6x10 MD to a 20 ft blast radius
(Fragmentation)1d4x10 +5 MD to 25 ft blast area
(Armor-Piercing High Explosive) 2d4x10 MD to 6 ft blast area
Rate of Fire: Single shot, EGCHH.
Payload: 6 rounds, ready to fire
Special Features:
*Reinforced Baseplate
*Fold-down Forward Handhold
*Flip-out Basic Sights
*Optional Bipod
Cost: 220,000 credits

[Godogma]

Now that is definitely an attention getter at the negotiations table...

EDIT: Also, I can't shake this image out of my head of a bunch of armadillo borgs standing on this mountainside near the top of the mountain and looking down at a coalition squad or whatever... Then all at once, curling into balls and playing one hell of a game of whack a mole... Especially if they popped open at the end and shouted "Banzai!"

Wonder how much damage 4.6 tons at 150 mph, coming off the high ground and hitting the Coalition guys like they were bowling would do?

[taalismn]

Now that is definitely an attention getter at the negotiations table...

EDIT: Also, I can't shake this image out of my head of a bunch of armadillo borgs standing on this mountainside near the top of the mountain and looking down at a coalition squad or whatever... Then all at once, curling into balls and playing one hell of a game of whack a mole... Especially if they popped open at the end and shouted "Banzai!"

Wonder how much damage 4.6 tons at 150 mph, coming off the high ground and hitting the Coalition guys like they were bowling would do?

2d6x10 MD for speeds over 60 MPH, plus possibility of follow-up landslide once the 'borgs roll past/bounce off.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel M-64 60mm ‘Snapdragon’ Gun-Mortar System

“I only really need two weapons to deal with most of my heavy-duty smiting; my Ravenclaw* and my Snapdragon. Between those two guns and with the right ammo, I can pretty much smite the $#!+ out of anything in line of sight....and just beyond it.”
----Greegor ‘Monster’ Munz, Shocktrooper Cyborg(Heavy Infantry), Greater New England Regular Army

(*’Ravenclaw’---Nickname for the PS license-produced version of the Kera-Tech KTH-65 32mm Assault Rail Gun)

Based on the pre-Rifts Brandt(French) design for a dual-mode smoothbore direct-and indirect-fire weapon(PS also produces an 80mm weapon using the same basis) that can be either breech or muzzle-loaded. The M-64 is meant to be vehicle-mounted, but it can also be mounted on heavy- and assault-class cyborgs(or supernaturally strong beings) with a P.S. of 18 or better, as a shoulder heavy weapon or carried as a rifle-pod(though the six-foot-long barrel sometimes poses a problem in close quarters). The ‘Snapdragon’ is considered to be an improvement over the previous ‘Snapfire’ system, and the two programs have been merged with regards to munitions development and production. Though more commonly seen as a vehicle-mounted weapon, it is relatively popular with GNEAS cyborg and enhanced-strength heavy infantry(though the PTT-M20 Missile Rifle is generally regarded as the heavy projectile weapon of choice).
Weight: (Basic weapon) 165 lbs, 195 lbs as a cyborg-carried rifle/pod, 468 lbs for a towed, carriage-borne system.
Bombs/shells weigh from 5 lbs.
MDC: 100
Range:(Direct Fire Mode): 6,000 ft
(Artillery Mode) 12,700 ft
Damage:
(Riot)---Combination flash-bang and rubber pellet charge---Victims are -10 to strike, parry, and dodge, -1 to initiative, and lose 1 APM for 1d4 melees. Rubber pellets do 1d4 SDC damage, but have a 60% chance of knockdown for any human-sized, or smaller, beings, caught in a 20 ft blast radius.....lose initiative and 1 APM for that melee(cost: 160 credits)
(Fragmentation-SDC) 2d4x10 SDC to 40 ft blast radius(cost: 200 credits)
(Fragmentation-MD) 3d6 MD to 50 ft blast radius(cost: 560 credits)
(High Explosive) 6d6 MD to 20 ft blast radius(cost: 720 credits)
(Anti-Armor HEAT) Very heavy projectile( Does 3d6x10 MD to a 2 ft diameter area(shaped charge)(cost: 900 credits)
(Plasma/Micro-Fusion) 1d6x10 MD to 8 ft blast radius (cost: 800 credits)
(Incendiary) 2d6 MD flash damage to 24 ft blast radius, plus does 1d4 MD per melee for 2d6 melees(cost: 710 credits)
(Acid)---4d6 MD to a 5 ft radius, then diminishes in strength by 1d6 each melee(lasts about 4 melees)(cost: credits)
(Chemical) Effects vary, but contains enough chemical agent to cover a 15 ft radius
(Illumination) Can loft to an altitude of 600 ft, and illuminate a 500 ft radius for 4d4 melees. (cost: 15 credits)
Note: Additional grenade types, including TW munitions, are constantly in development.

Rate of Fire: ECHH. Hand-loading and firing rounds takes 2 actions each shot.
Payload: Varies by vehicle- and cyborg- ammunition-storage capacity. As a rifle/pod-style weapon, it has a clip-on magazine with 5 shots
Special Features:
*Reinforced Baseplate/buttstock
*Fold-down Forward Handhold
*Flip-out Basic Sights
*Optional Bipod
*(Optional) Underbarrel Bayonet Clip---Some cyborgs have been known to attach a vibro-saber, vibro-axe, or vibro-polearm blade under the six-foot-long barrel, making the weapon an impromptu halbard.
Cost: 250,000 credits

Variants:
*M-64C--- A rifle-pod ‘combi-weapon’ that predates the GunLoc-II system and which was developed as a spinoff of the PS PTT-M20 Missile Rifle. The M-64C is distinguished by its large ovoid muzzle-brake on the end of its barrel, though the pod also conceals three co-axial light lasers identical to the single one mounted on the PTT-M20. The lasers can fire singly or in synch, and in low power mode act as a laser-sighting system. The heavy muzzle pod also adds +1d4 MD if the heavily-reinforced and stiffened weapon is used as a bludgeon.
Weight: 212 lbs
MDC: 125
(Lasers)
Range: 2,000 feet
Damage: 2d6 MD per single blast, 4d6 MD double blast, and 6d6 MD for a triple blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH, Firing all three lasers in synch counts as one action/attack
Payload: 20 single blasts on a short clip, 30 on a long.
Bonuses: +1 to strike from laser targeting
Cost: 280,000 credits

[abtex]

Now that is definitely an attention getter at the negotiations table...

EDIT: Also, I can't shake this image out of my head of a bunch of armadillo borgs standing on this mountainside near the top of the mountain and looking down at a coalition squad or whatever... Then all at once, curling into balls and playing one hell of a game of whack a mole... Especially if they popped open at the end and shouted "Banzai!"

Wonder how much damage 4.6 tons at 150 mph, coming off the high ground and hitting the Coalition guys like they were bowling would do?

2d6x10 MD for speeds over 60 MPH, plus possibility of follow-up landslide once the 'borgs roll past/bounce off.

Bowling pins are white, normally.

[Godogma]

Eh, coalition skeleboiz are close enough in coloring... Most of the new art has their armor/helmets being at least half white

[89er]

Big update regarding Hoyt and other budget mad science gear. Due to heavy thinking and the progress of the Alliance's output of tech, Hoyt Sparks had decided to exile himself to the moon of Titan, where he cannot harm anyone with his works and make advances in countering potential threats.

He has left Sparky, an AI of few words, as manager of the newly made Tungsten Fabrication. This company specializes in experimental tech that allows experts and veterans to test and provide feedback, at their peril, on the gear being made.Of course the Alliance is free to adapt such tech to their catalogs. Open soon to a trading post near you.

[taalismn]

Big update regarding Hoyt and other budget mad science gear. Due to heavy thinking and the progress of the Alliance's output of tech, Hoyt Sparks had decided to exile himself to the moon of Titan, where he cannot harm anyone with his works and make advances in countering potential threats.

He has left Sparky, an AI of few words, as manager of the newly made Periodic Fabrication. This company specializes in experimental tech that allows experts and veterans to test and provide feedback, at their peril, on the gear being made.Of course the Alliance is free to adapt such tech to their catalogs. Open soon to a trading post near you.

He's not going to use the rings of Saturn to spell out his undying love for certain women, is he?

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel ‘Garman’ Stealth Hover Ambulance
(aka ‘Stealth Samaritan’, ‘Dark Angel’)
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/img355_zpsbd6c5226.jpg

Once she was the jewel of the dance. Once she was a beauty sought in courtship. Once she was a free spirit. Once she was a princess. Once she was a queen. Once she was a warrior. She might yet one day again be any of those. But in the here and now, she lies still and comatose, her breathing prompted by the machines wrapped around her and snaking inside her, her heartbeat nursed along by nano-wires woven into her heart. Nanomachines and healing magics work tirelessly knitting shattered bone back together, reconnecting muscle and nerves, bridging gaps in traumatized flesh, searching for the ghostly quantum resonances of memory, and working to reunite them with newly-regrown nerves. Somewhere, her war-troubled soul floats in some timeless limbo, not knowing that she might sometime receive a compelling summons to awaken, to live again.
But that summons WILL come. The machines and magicks, at the command of the corpsman who watches over her still form as she heals, will see to that. The crew of the flying machine that carries her maimed body with such swiftness over smoking battlefield and through dimensional rift will see to that. The staff at the hospital waiting to receive her into their care will see to that. Every machine and every person in a great chain of organization and activity, designed, trained, and determined to save even just one life.

To Paladin Steel and Greater New England, their real power is their manpower, and the smart authorities of both value their people over machinery. Prompt and expert medical response for its employees and citizens is as key to the success of PS/GNE as better armor and bigger guns.
While just about any passenger-carrying vehicle can serve in a pinch as an ambulance, PS began to look at developing a vehicle specifically capable of operating in a search-and-rescue role close to battlelines. Such a vehicle would have to be fast(to speed casualties to the rear lines), tough(to survive enemy fire), and stealthy(to avoid being detected by the enemy in the first place). Extraction of wounded personnel from under the guns of an enemy was to be the new vehicle’s specialty.
PA turned to a prototype scout vehicle, based on Free Quebec’s ‘Reloader’ hover vehicle, that had been shelved when another PS project, the ShadowSkimmer, was approved instead. The earlier vehicle design was dusted off, qualities recalculated with regards to applicable new technologies, and the redesign was subsequently prototyped, tested, and approved in good time, entering service as the PS-Hv-MEDSAR-06 ‘Garman’ Medical Search and Rescue Transport.
While the Garman owes a lot to the original Reloader, it looks and performs in ways significantly different from the ‘flying flatbed’. Unlike the Reloader, the Garman is fully enclosed, and has a wider, more streamlined body, resembling to some the wingless center fuselage of a pre-Rifts B-2 ‘Spirit’ stealth bomber, both to protect its crew and passengers, and to optimize passive stealth qualities. A more advanced command-control interface allows for smoother handling and more stable flight, especially important when rescuing victims in rough environmental conditions and transporting critically ill patients quickly and safely.
The Garman carries a powerful multimedia sensor suite for navigating treacherous environments, active battlefields, avoiding hazards, and locating those in need of rescue(especially when and where IFF locator beacons are not available, functioning, or good idea). When active sensors and high visibility systems are not needed, they are retracted and stowed behind body paneling, under the cover of the stealth hull.
Once aboard, a rescued person can expect to be treated with the aide of a comprehensive array of medical treatment tools. The Garman normally can carry up to six Intensive Care Patient Stabilization Modules(life support and biostasis pods).

As not everybody respects the convention of letting medical rescue go unmolested(and in fact some cultures make a point of attacking unarmed support services), the Garman is outfitted with several passive stealth features and active countermeasure systems. Military grade ECM and ECCM systems, managed largely by A.I. ‘smart’ systems, provide protection against enemy sensor-guided weaponry and jamming. A low-visibility hull with radar-stealthed coating materials provides passive protection, as does too a hull covering of mimetic material, that can switch from high-visibility color configurations to more cunning terrain-matching camouflage schemes.
As a last resort, the Garman can be fitted with up to two small weapons stations, and chemical sprayer systems. The active weapons are typically point defense for fending off missiles and airborne pursuers, but antipersonnel weapons are also sometimes mounted, for anti-sniper suppression and subduing combative personnel. The chemical system can be used for crowd-control, smokescreen dispersal, or, with specialized aerosol agents, dealing with vermin, such as Xiticix(PEST-EX), vampires(Holy Water), or zombies(ZOMB-EX).

Too expensive and specialized for widespread employment with civilian ambulance services, the Garman is used most commonly by the Greater New England Armed Services Search And Rescue services, and by the GNE Coast Guard. Some of the better-heeled Irregular units also use Garmans, especially if their specialty is rescue work. The Garman’s stealth capabilities have proven particularly useful in humanitarian missions in areas around Splugorth enclaves(where the Splugorth tend to regard medical and rescue vehicles in the same way predators regard wounded prey).

Type: PS-Hv-MEDSAR-06 ‘Garman’
Class: Hovervehicle, Medical Search and Rescue Transport
Crew: 1+1-4 medical staff, 6 gurnied patients, or up to 10 ‘walking wounded’
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 360
Main Hoverjets(6) 85 each
Secondary Hoverjets(8) 40 each
Side Hatches(2) 80 each
Rear Ramp 90
Folding Crane 80
Height: 7 ft
Width: 14 ft
Length: 24 ft
Weight: 4 tons
Cargo: Can carry 6 gurnied patients, or up to 9 ‘walking wounded’, or 2 tons of medial supplies.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 20 year energy life
Speed: (Flying) Hover to 300 MPH, maximum altitude 600 ft
(Water) Unlike the original, the Garman CAN float on water to perform amphibious rescues.
Market Cost: 35 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Robot Systems, plus:
*Pilot Assist Computer System---+10% to Pilot Hovercraft skill. +1 to Dodge

*Light Bars/Flashers---Retractable behind hull panels

*Searchlights---Directable spotlights in both normal and IR light. Range: 600 ft.

*Winch and Hoist---A holdover from the original Reloader design, this folding hoist system can handle loads up to 2 tons(most medical litters are much lighter). One is built into each flip-up ‘wing’ door and one into the upper overhang fantail of the rear hatch.

*Molecular Analyzer/Environmental Sensor---Constantly samples the atmosphere for chemical traces and radiation, for identifying potential environmental hazards, such as nuclear fallout, chemical spills, or biological/chemical weapons.

*Sensory Cluster----MDC 80---Has the following sensors:
*Motion Detector--200 ft range
*Laser Illuminator-----6,000 ft range, Designates targets for laser-guided munitions/weapons
*Laser Targeting System(+1 to strike)
*Lance Scanner---Looks like a long lance protruding from the front of the craft. The Lance Scanner contains a magnetometer() and a short-range microwave radar for groundsearching minefields(in theory, the ground radar sound be able to detect even nonmetallic mines, but takes twice as long). Range: The magnetometer has a range of 4,000 ft and can detect vehicles and other metallic structures with 80% accuracy
The ground radar has a range of 3,000 ft, and has a 90% chance of detecting metal-cased mines, 60% chance of detecting nonmetallic ordinance.
*Aura Scanner---For detecting and identifying PPE concentrations
Range: 2000 ft
*Bio-Scanner---Has a molecular analyzer, enhanced radiation detector, high-powered acoustic ‘shotgun mike’(3,000 ft range), and thermo-imager optics.
* Optical Cluster--- Telescopic, IR/UV, Thermo-Imaging, Audio-Video-Survellance System

*Crash Control/Safety Restraints/Fire Control System---Reduces the damage that passengers take in a crash by HALF.

*Pontoon Landing Gear--- Inflatable pontoons that lift the ambulance up out of the water for greater clearance.
MDC of Pontoons(4): 60 each

*Stealthing----Not true stealth/invisibility, but rather a number of features and adjustments to reduce the overall acoustic/radar/IR signature of the vehicle. Such things as a subtle rounding-off of the edges of the hull, use of “cool” ceramic and composite materials, exhaust filtering/cooling systems, and specially insulated components reduce the vehicle’s overall sensor sig.
-15% to track/identify/detect w/ sensors
(Note): Failure to keep up a regular maintenance schedule and continually adjust components will negate any advantages afforded by this system.

*Chameoline System---Special fiber optics in the hull can change the color scheme of the ambulance between any one of ten different schemes(programmed in at the time of purchase), including basic camouflage schemes.

*ECM Spoofing System---The ambulance also employs active sensor spoofing to foil targeting systems and communications. This system was adapted from Bandito Arms’ systems(themselves developed from NEMA pre-Rifts ‘Black Box’ technology).
Sensor Jamming----Missiles are effectively -7 to strike. If specifically targeting missiles(no more than 2), and the ECM operator takes a melee action, the system can cause the missiles in question to veer off course within 2000 ft, and -9 to strike.


*Onboard Medical Computer---A medical AI programmed with Paramedic at 80%, and databases on Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Chemistry: Pharmaceutical, Entomological Medicine, Pathology, and Xenology.

*Cyberscanner---This is essentially the medic’s version of a Tech-Scanner, only calibrated to interface with cybernetics and bionics. Working in concert with the onboard A.I., the system’s probes can check the power flow and power coming off implants and verify if they are damaged, interfacing correctly, or otherwise acting abnormally. This system can also be used to check if a piece of neural-ware is boosted beyond approved limits. Can effectively diagnose common Black Market and PS/GNE cyberware at 95%, while more recent Triax and Republic of Japan designs can only be effectively diagnosed at 75%. Experimental human-based designs can be diagnosed at 50-65%, while truly alien systems implanted in humans and common D-bee races are only able to be identified and diagnosed with 30% effectiveness(largely working from comparison to more conventional/better-documented systems).

*Molecular Analyzer/Chem-Scanner-----Essentially an automated and highly-compact biochemical lab capable of performing blood typing, simple pregnancy and tissue-typing, and quick sampling of blood and tissue for common compatibility and rejection factors(especially important when working with multiple species services and communities). This allows the medic a better chance of administering the proper drugs and blood substitute solutions.

*Short Range Magnetometer---Field hospital version of a Magnetic Resonance Scanner, and much more accurate than the handheld units, this device uses magnetic fields to detect the presence of metallic shrapnel and implants...detecting ferric materials 99% of the time, non-ferric 95%, and composite/nonmetallic objects 85% of the time.

*Cryo-Pump---A onboard cryogen supply tank and coolant system for freezing specimens, and quick-freezing bodies and loose organs for later reattachment or study. Hooks up to carry-sacks/containers and alerts the operator if stasis is broken or the temperature exceeds safe storage limits. The tank holds up to 25 gallons of recyclable cryogen fluid.

*Microwave Sterilizer----An onboard autoclave system used for quickly nuking instruments or boiling/sterilizing up to 6 gallons of water at once in under 30 seconds.

*Nano-Director---This is a networked series of sensors and EM manipulators that can be positioned around a patient and used to enhance the performance of injected IRMSS or other nanite medical treatments. The Nano-Director more effectively coordinates the nanites and lets them ‘see the bigger picture’. It also allows an attending physician to direct the nanites to target specific injury sites in the patient’s body.
(In game terms, this translates into a medical surgical skill of 80% for the IRMSS, rather than 75%)


Weapons Systems: Not normally armed, though there is provision for a one or two light weapons turrets. Most ambulances, if armed, will carry an automated antimissile or point-defense weapons system, and an antipersonnel weapon for crowd control. Typically, any carried weapons will have a multimode stun/reduced-lethality capability; the following are the most common turret fit-outs:

a) Pulse Laser Turret----The Pulse Laser is intended as an antiaircraft/antimissile system, and can be remote-linked to an air defense grid system, such as the Meles AAAV, Rattlesnake AAV, or the Vixen Fighter/Recon Pod, (Part of Paladin Steel's emerging BAMSP: Battlefield Asset Management System Package).
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: 3D6 MD single blast, 6D6 MD double- barreled blast
Rate of Fire: Equal to the gunner's combined hand to hand attacks, or 4 attacks in auto-defense mode.
Payload: Unlimited
Bonuses: +2 to strike airborne targets like missiles and aircraft/flying opponents(must be traveling higher than 10 ft off the ground)
Cost: 45,000 credits

b) Stun Gun---An electrical zap-arc that works similar to a taser, but based on a design acquired from Japan, via PS’s limited trade with that island-nation. (Stats from Rifts: japan, pg. 124)
Range: 800 ft
Damage: Setting One: (Weak Stun--Children, elderly, pregnant women, disabled)1d6 SDC
Setting Two: (Light Stun--elderly, teenagers, weak adults, small to medium animals)2d5 SDC
Setting Three: (Moderate Stun---Adults)3d6 SDC
Setting Four: (Heavy Stun---Adults in superior condition, drug-addicts, PR-Borgs, augmented humans, large animals)6d6 SDC
Setting Five:(Super-Shock---superhumans, augments, partial conversion Borgs, monsters) 1d6 MD
Stun Damage: On _correct_ setting, adults must save at 14 or higher(children and animals save at 18 or higher) or be -9 on initiative, -7 to strike/parry/dodge/roll, reduce speed/melee actions/and skill performance by HALF for 2d4 melee rounds. Additional strikes are cumulative. A successful save means the target takes damage, and loses 1 APM, but is otherwise fine.
Cumulative 15% chance per subsequent stun blast that the target will be knocked unconscious for 1d4 minutes.
Penalties: If setting is too low, the target can more easily shrug off the effects. Targets are +4 to save per each level that the blast is too low.
If setting is too high, target is +15% to lose consciousness .
Ineffective against EBA, robots, full conversion Borgs, vampires, androids, and the more powerful creatures of magic.
PR Borgs, Juicers , and Crazies are only really susceptible to Settings 4 and 5, and are +1 to save
FC Borgs are only affected by Setting 5, and are +4 to save, penalties and duration are HALF.
Young supernatural beings and lesser demons can be affected by Setting 5, but are +3 to save.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 400 shot battery conventionally powered models(Recharges 20 shots per hour). Effectively unlimited w/ Nuclear Powerplant
Cost: 29,000 credits

c) Neural Disrupter Blaster---A knockoff of a Northern Gun weapon(industrial espionage being alive and well), but tweaked for greater efficiency and range. Nicknamed the ‘nerve blaster’ and the ‘brain sandblaster’ for its brute force approach to taking people down. NOT recommended for gentle persuasion or use on children, elders, or other innocent bystanders.
Weight: 30 lbs
Range: 1,400 ft
Damage: (Setting One) 2d6 SDC and victim must roll versus non-lethal poison(16 or better). On a successful save the target is -3 to strike, parry, dodge, and loses initiative and 1 APM for 1d4 melee rounds. A FAILED save means the target is -7 to all actions, loses initiative, reduce APMs to ONE, skill performance is -60%, -90% to Speed, and suffers convulsions that do 1d6 SDC per round for 2d4 melee rounds.
(Setting Two) Does 2d6x10 SDC(or 1 MD), and victim must roll versus non-lethal poison(16 or better). On a successful save an augmented human(oid) is -5 to strike, parry, dodge, and loses initiative and 1 APM for 1d4 melee rounds. A successful save by UNaugmented human(oid)s results in -10 to strike, parry, dodge, lose initiative and is reduced to 1 APM, skill performance is -80%, speed reduced 95%, and suffer painful convulsions doing 1d6 SDC per melee for 2d4 MINUTES.
A FAILED save by augmented human(oid)s means the target is -7 to all actions, loses initiative, reduce APMs to TWO, skill performance is -60%, -80% to Speed, and suffers convulsions that do 4d6 SDC per round for 2d4 melee rounds.
Note: Works through most body armor up to 50 MDC. Those in armor protection of 51-80 MDC are +6 to save. Those in heavier armor, power armor, full conversion cyborgs, vehicles, robots, or who are MegaJuicers or Dragons are impervious.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 18 shots standard E-clip, 24 shots long e-clip, 50 shots canister-clip. Effectively unlimited hitched up to a nuclear power plant.
Cost: 55,000 credits

d)Ion Blaster---Modified version of the PSIR-08 ‘Rip-Zapper’ Ion Rifle
Range:(Ion Beam Mode) 1,700 ft
(SDC Beam) 2,000 ft
(Ion Bolt Mode) 3,000 ft
(Lightning Zapper Mode) 500 ft
Damage:(Ion Beam Mode) 4d6+2 MD per single shot
(SDC Beam)1d6 SDC shock-burn. Plus, victims must make a save of 14 or better, or be -8 to strike, parry, and dodge for 2d6 melees. A savings throw versus non-lethal poison means the person is unimpaired. 25% chance of knocking out unshielded cybernetics for 1d4 melees, and a 75% chance of permanently frying nanotech devices(like Armor-dissolving nanites or RMK/IRMSS systems).
(Ion Bolt Mode) 2d4 MD to 5 ft radius, 55% chance of knocking out unshielded cybernetics for 1d4 melees.
(Lightning Zapper Mode) Does stun damage similar to SDC beam through metal armor and light power armor.
On an unmodified roll of 18-20, it causes unshielded BIONICS and robots to spasm for 1d4 melees(Cyborg is at HALF bonuses to strike, parry, dodge, roll, and is -3 to initiative. Reduce speed by HALF).
This weapon does 1d4x10 EMP damage(no physical damage) to a 10 ft radius. The resulting percentage of the target location MDC is the chance of shutdown/disablement. All damage is cumulative. Damage in excess of 50% target MDC will require repair to make it functional; 75% or more damage will require replacement of the entire electrical system. Does double damage to non-shielded civilian systems. Bionics are -1 to dodge, roll, and strike for the affected limb/system, lasting 1d4 melees, non-cumulative, before the system resets itself.
Rate of Fire:(Ion Beam Mode) EGCHH
(SDC Beam) EGCHH
(Ion Bolt Mode) Four times per melee
(Lightning Zapper Mode) Can fire only one Zap every melee(takes fifteen seconds to power up)
Payload: Effectively unlimited
Cost: 36,000 Credits

e) Light 5.56mm Machine Gun----Capable of firing non-lethal rounds.
Range: 5,000 ft
Damage: (Rubber Baton) Range 300 ft, 1 SDC, and a 15% chance of knocking down a suspect. This option is best used in a burst, for maximum chance of knockdown.

(Taser) 1d6 SDC, victim is -8 to strike, dodge, and parry for 1d4 melees, plus an additional 1d4 melees per subsequent hit, Also must save versus non-lethal poison, 16 or higher, or be knocked unconscious.

(Tear gas) None...Due to the small internal volume of the bullet, this shell can deliver only a small amount of chemical agent to the target area; enough for a 5 ft cloud. It’s best used in a burst for maximum effect. Victims are -10 to strike, parry, and dodge, plus lose one attack/action per melee for 1d6+1 melees

(Tag) None...This is either a paintball round or a special scent pellet...the scent pellet gives a +20% to anyone with an advanced sense of small to identify and track a tagged suspect. Paint or scent tags can only be removed with a paint remover like turpentine.

(Drug Dart) Does no damage, but victim must make a save versus nonlethal poison or fall asleep for 3d6 minutes. A successful save means that the victim has fought off most of the drug, but is still dizzy and disoriented; -5 to initiative/strike/parry/dodge/ and roll, and -1 APM for 1d6 melees.
The danger comes in multiple strikes; for every dart strike after the first, while its effects are still being felt, the victim has a chance of suffering physical damage from drug overdose...each strike/unsuccessful save thereafter does 1d4 SDC, as well extends the effects of the dart. For this reason, police rarely ever fire drug darts in bursts, except against exceptional physical specimens, like Juicers or Crazies.

(5.56 mm Cartridge) 3d6 SDC per single rd

Note: PS is also developing other specialized ammunition types...the ‘Fhizer’ is fully compatible/able to fire wood and silver rounds as well.

Rate of Fire: Standard; single shot, 3, 5, or 10 rd burst
Payload: 300 shot magazine
Bonuses: +1 to Strike from laser targeting
Cost: 4,000 credits

f) Spray Cannon
Range: 500 ft for water, 300 ft for other chemical agents
Damage: Varies by chemical carried; Some examples:
(Water) None usually, but if used to throw water at vampires, does 1d4x10 H.P. per blast. Used against a human-sized being, it has a 50% chance of bowling them over from the water pressure(lose initiative and 1 APM while getting back up)

(Gloop) PS’s sticky goop---This material is used in construction, as well as to firm up the walls of tunnels and damaged structures. It is also used to cocoon valuable and delicate objects for moving. Each half-gallon application of this quick-set plastic covers about 5 cubic feet, and to cover a human sized target completely, the attacker must roll a 12 or better on the Strike roll. Anyone caught in the goo must have a supernatural or robotic P.S. of 30 or better to escape; otherwise, the target is stuck until released by an outside agency. Gloop has 2d4 MDC per application, and breaks down after 1d4 days of exposure, unless treated with a special binder chemical, and allowed to cure for 1d4 hours, in which case it stabilizes and has an MDC of 2d6+1. Gloop costs 70 credits per half gallon(single application)
A variant of this gunk, ‘Boro-Slime’, is a quick-setting slurry of lead-powder and boro-silicate glass suspension, which is sprayed on leaking radiation sources, forming a thick crust to simultaneously trap radioactive materials and seal it inside a crusting shell for later safe removal. Best used to contain small (power armor and vehicle) reactor breaches and water leaks; larger reactor leaks will require more drastic measures. ‘Boro-Slime’ is otherwise identical to standard Gloop, and costs 120 credits per half gallon(single application)

(Kera-Tech Riot Foam) Alternatively, the cannon can be filled with Kera-Tech’s patented KTX-17 Riot Foam, which is stronger, but more expensive, than the Gloop. This stuff takes a robotic or supernatural PS of 40 or greater to break free. Creatures with a greater strength can break free in 1d4 melees. The foam hardens in less than 2 seconds, and can take 30 MDC per cubic meter(a humanoid typically needs at least two meters to be totally enveloped). A special enzyme spray will dissolve the foam in 1d4 melees. This stuff costs about 800 credits per pound of the stuff, which is enough to fill a 4m( roughly 12 square ft) area to a height of 1.8 m(6 ft)

(Slip Spray)---rather than trap, this makes it impossible for people and many vehicles to gain purchase. A single application(a tablespoon) will cover nearly four square feet. Slipspray is very nearly water-resistant----it takes a LOT of water, roughly 6-10 gallons, to wash away an ounce of slipspray---or regular industrial solvents will do the trick. Slipspray breaks down after 1d4 hours of exposure to air.
Effects: Anyone trying to move across slipspray must make a roll under their Physical Prowess at -8 or go out of control at full speed. Vehicles, power armors, and light robot vehicles traveling in ground contact across sufficiently large patches of slipspray will be at -15% to their piloting rolls..failure means the vehicle goes out of control and takes on the characteristics of a giant hockey puck. Depending on the hardness of the surface(must be a hard surface, not a permeable surface like dirt or gravel), certain heavy vehicles and robots(like the CS Skullcrusher) will be unaffected, as they simply stomp the effected surface into the subterranean. Hovercraft are NOT affected either. Cost: 40 credits per ounce(covers 8 square ft...so a gallon’s worth will cover 1,024 ft! Instant ice rink anyone?)

Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 200 gallon internal tank
Cost: 10,000 credits

g) Taser Bead Gun---A more powerful version of the S-9 ‘Sandman’ that fires an electrically-charged silicon bead that delivers an incapacitating charge on impact, while powdering in the process.
Range: 300 ft
Damage: None: Humanoids struck with this weapon must save
vs. coma or be shocked unconscious for 1D6 minutes.
Cyborgs have a 75% chance of having their cybernetics
disrupted for 1D10 minutes, and a 30% chance of a
non-vital system being permanently shorted out.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 600 shot magazine
Cost: 6,000 credits


2) Flare/Chaff Launchers(2)---Standard countermeasure launchers
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 24 chaff clusters(12 per launcher)

Options:
*Speed Booster
Speed: Can improve top speed by up to 40%
Cost: 300,000 credits for nuclear powerplant upgrades. +50,000 per 10% for hoverjet systems(actually simpler to upgrade GEV systems past the initial high cost by adding more/bigger jet thrusters).

*Variable Optical Camouflage Suite---Based on reverse-engineered Naruni and other alien ‘invisibility’ systems, this highly sophisticated system option renders the Garman effectively invisible to eyeball and sensor detection.
Bonuses: -20% to opposition Detect Ambush and Detect Concealment rolls; heat sensors are useless
Note: CANNOT be combined with appliqué armor, unless the over-armor is ejected first.
Cost: 1.2 million credits

*Appliqué Armor---Adds additional protection(and weight) to the main body. Up to 200 additional MDC can be added, at 7 lbs, and 150 credits(400 credits for stealth armor), per 1 MDC point. Lighter armor can be substituted, at 1 lb per MDC point, but the stronger polycarbonate armor costs 400 credits(800 credits for stealth armor) per MDC point. Adding over 50 additional MDC will also incur a -5% speed per reduction per ever additional 50 MDC over the first added.
*Thermal Resistant Heat-Refractory Tile Armor(Option)---Special heat-resistant materials designed originally for reentry vehicle shielding. Heat and plasma-based attacks do 1/4 damage
----Cost: +1 million credits
*Chemical Resistant Armor(Option)----PS’s patented chemically inert armor that sheds the effects of corrosive chemicals and stick’ums. Acids and chemical weapons do NO damage.
----Cost: +1.1 million credits
*Jettisonable Armor(Option)---Special precut division channels, break points, and integral explosive bolts allow the vehicle crew to jettison the appliqué armor, shedding it, usually to restore mobility(in the case of medium- and heavy-armors), lose contaminated outer plates, or shed unwanted riders. Once jettisoned, the appliqué armor CANNOT be reattached without extensive reconstruction and refurbishment(if anything is left at all of the original material)....Essentially, one has to re-buy the appliqué and/or jettisonable armor option to regain its benefits.
OPTIONAL: The explosive bolts, at the GM’s discretion, can explode off with enough force to do 1d6 MD to an 15 ft radius around the vehicle, due to flying armor fragments.
----Cost: +4,000 credits+cost of armor



*Shock Blaster Security System---This addition to the standard antitheft locks and alarms BLASTS the miscreant with bullhorns and industrial-strength strobe lights that override passersby’ normal apathy about car alarms, and limelights the thieving bastards like jack-lit deer, as well as chiseling their eardrums and optical nerves. Imagine a flash-bang grenade going off in your face while you’re trying to coat hangar the door-lock.....
Range: 10 ft radius
Effects: Targets without ear and eye protection are temporarily blinded and deafened; -5 to strike, -10 parry/dodge, and 40% chance of stumbling and falling per 10 ft of movement. Has a Horror Factor of 8 to anyone else standing nearby, who think the car just exploded. Effects last 1d4 melees
Cost: 700 credits

*TechnoWizardry Systems----Many Garmans see the installation of TW systems, particularly onboard medical systems, and externally-acting protective and stealth systems, along with the accompanying PPE/Powerstone batteries/generators to power them. Offensive systems are NEVER fitted.

Variants:
No variants of the Garman are known to exist, despite rumors of surveillance vehicle models.

[89er]

I like the ninja ambulance that helps injured folks.

I should be writing up a rough outline for the Roswell Saucer and ACME 51 Mothership for you as promised soon.

[taalismn]

I like the ninja ambulance that helps injured folks.

I should be writing up a rough outline for the Roswell Saucer and ACME 51 Mothership for you as promised soon.

Thanks. I should have the illo for the ninja ambulance up by tomorrow or Tuesday.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel DRIVER(Directive Robotic Intelligence, Vehicular Enhancement Refit)

“Make your car your new best friend.”
---PS advertising slogan for the new DRIVER system

Ever wanted an extra set of eyes on the road? Wanted to just kick back and nap for a moment on those long road trips, but couldn’t because you had to have both hands on the wheel? Wished you could be both driving your vehicle AND handling the weapons turret? Want the ultimate in cruise control? Now you can, thanks to Paladin Steel’s DRIVER system.
Developed from their drone road vehicle program, the DRIVER system takes an existing vehicle and refits it with an Artificial Intelligence CPU(roughly the size of a shoebox), connected to an installed network of internal and external sensors that makes the vehicle a robot.
The DRIVER system acts as a robot driver, allowing for ‘hands free’ operation of a vehicle, and giving the crew a chance to rest, make cell phone calls, operate sensors and weapons, and carry out other activities.
The DRIVER can also monitor the performance of the vehicle, alerting the crew to maintenance problems, and make suggestions on optimizing performance(on straightfoward trips, the power/fuel management mode of the DRIVER can extend the vehicle’s range as much as 10-15%). The DRIVER system also provides an extra set of senses, giving warning of bad travel and road conditions, approaching threats, and break-in attempts. With expansion of the programming capacity, the DRIVER can even manage accessory systems, such as Electronic Warfare suites and weapons. More often, though, the DRIVER is programmed to offer advice to its crew and passengers, such as databases on local customs, language, and law.
The DRIVER CPU has its own oboard powercell(good for about 20 years), so even with the motor turned off, the AI can continue to monitor the vehicle for possible carjackers.
DRIVERs can rarely conduct any other sort of physical activity beyond driving the vehicle unless the craft is specifically equiped with gear such manipulator arms or tool appendages, and the CPU is programmed to use them. Similarly, they are rarely ever programmed to be able to use weapons systems or engage in combat. However, DRIVERs are programmed in defensive etiquette, evasive driving, and ambush detection, be it a road block or oncoming case of road rage.

In an emergency, the DRIVER CPU can be removed from the vehicle, though it is useless in anything other than another DRIVER-equiped vehicle(the CPU has no appendages or sensors for working another vehicle). However. PS will discount the cost of rigging another vehicle for the DRIVER system as much as 40% if the customer already has a working DRIVER CPU.

Since its introduction, the DRIVER system has mainly been used by small adventurer groups and larger mercantile-industrial concerns, where DRIVER systems are frequently used aboard vehicle convoys to reduce driver fatigue. The system is also used for wholly automated supply convoys and shipments of goods where the potental danger to manned crews outweighs the value of the transported goods. While this latter would seem to play right into the hands of bandits who might try to bollux the DRIVERs to deliver goods right into their hands, DRIVER operators have also been known to boobytrap convoys, turning them into bandit-traps.

Paladin Steel is also reportedly working on a similar system for aircraft(PILOT---Pilot InteLligence Operating Technology) and marine vehicles(SAILOR--- Subsidiary Artificial InteLligence Oceanic Robotics).

Type: PS-DRIVER-01

Class:Directive Robotic Intelligence, Vehicular Enhancement Refit

Crew: None; Robot Intelligence

MDC/Armor by Location:
Same as for the vehicle.
The CPU has about 50 MDC, and external sensors not protected by the vehicle’s own armor generally have anywhere from 5-20 MDC each

Size/Weight: Negligible. The CPU and sensor rigs generally add about 100 lbs at best to the vehicle

Powerplant:
Same as for the vehicle. The CPU has an advanced battery/powercell that’s good for 20 years and just runs the CPU and basic sensors.

Market Cost: 90,000 credits for basic system

Systems of Note:
*Basic Robot Optical
*Basic Robot Audio
*Motion Detector
*Voice Synthesizer---The DRIVER’s voice can be selected by the buyer. A variety of pre-selected speech-pattern packages are avaiable, the most popular being ‘Obedient Robot’, ‘Sexy Lady’, ‘English Chaffuer’, and ‘Pre-Rifts Talking Car’.

Programming:
*Pilot Ground Vehicles----4 Ground Vehicles of choice; typically Automobile, Truck, Hovercraft(ground), and Tracked/Construction, all at 90%, plus Combat Driving.

A Ground Vehicle(Light) is also available, and covers the necessary skills for Motorcycle, Snowmobles, and Hovercycles, all at 90%, plus Combat Driving.

*Pilot Related----Read Sensory Instruments, Navigation(Land), both at 94%.

Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 4
Initiative +1

Options:

*Expanded CPU Capacity/Capability: Adds extra programs, typically database programs. Up to three additional programs can be added, typically from the Communications, Technical, Mechanical(Basic) and Electrical(Basic) programs. If the DRIVER is expected to perform any of the programmed skills directly it must be fitted with manipulatory appendages equipped accordingly. If being used as a skill database, talking a person through a task, the ‘transferred’ skill proficiency is 38%. iF bought directly from Paladin Steel, additional programs cost 25% LESS than than the Black Market price listed in Rifts Sourcebook One(Revised).

[taalismn]

illo for the Garman up: http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp16 ... 6c5226.jpg

[89er]

I cannot find any mention of the hazmat or mage borgs you were referring to in your earlier works.